


If It Bleeds

by MorganOfTheFey



Series: OTP: Fight Club [6]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: (for both Gavin and Nines), (sort of; Nines has ken doll anatomy but that doesn't stop Gavin's mouth!!), Angst with a Happy Ending, Asexual Character, Autistic Character, BDSM, Blowjobs, Come Eating, Cunnilingus, Dom Nines / Sub Gavin, Face Slapping, Face-Fucking, Friends to Lovers, Gavin is so desperate to suck Nines's cock, Gavin's ex is emotionally abusive, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Jealous sex, Light BDSM, M/M, Medical Roleplay, Nines does some sexual exploration and gets a dick, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Pet Play, Podfic Welcome, Slow Burn, Some Switching, Spanking, Trans Male Character, but he's still ace, idiots to lovers, this is a big plot point so please see the notes for further tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:29:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 36
Words: 149,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23859844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorganOfTheFey/pseuds/MorganOfTheFey
Summary: While dealing with the fallout of the WJ700 case, Gavin and Nines also get assigned to the new Android Task Force when they start investigating on their own anyway. Unfortunately, there’s no clear connection between the half dozen cases of androids deactivated and abandoned other than they all suffered a critical systems failure due to a new trend, “wireplay.” But tracking down the source of the trend gets more complicated as both the IA and FBI hold a grudge, Nines makes new sexual explorations of his own, and Gavin’s ex-boyfriend attempts to reconnect …(please see notes for further tags on the abusive ex-boyfriend; I don't want to tag for stuff that might be mistaken as Nines/Gavin's relationship is abusive)
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Series: OTP: Fight Club [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1075581
Comments: 789
Kudos: 355





	1. Detective Reed's Donuts

**Author's Note:**

> If It Bleeds is 35 chapters long, ~150k, rated E for graphic violence and sex scenes, and trigger warnings for the content in each individual chapter will be posted in the beginning notes. check out the newly-posted In the Beginning, now part one of this series, for a special one-shot backstory of RK900 being discovered in Cyberlife Tower by Hank and Connor!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin is finally allowed to return to work after a month of medical leave, even if he "shouldn't" talk yet and he's immediately greeted with a brutal case involving a murdered YK500. Nines has to learn a hard lesson about the criminal justice system, but at least he's partnered with the DPD's best detective. Who is very much on his way to earning a special reward ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, it is so good to be back!! thank you so so much for everyone returning or just now getting into this series, literal years after the game came out, lol
> 
> I don't want to clog up the notes too much on this first chapter, so the breakdown reminder of what's happened in the series so far, Nines and Gavin's IDs, and comprehensive tags for where this fic is going (angst with a happy ending, but a lot of bad shit first) will be in the notes at the end, along with a link to my tumblr for more info on extra content, drabbles, and some reed900 AUs I'm working on~
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** referenced death of a child (not graphic or detailed), reference child sexual abuse (same), piss kink (not sexual, but tagging just in case bc Gavin does take a piss while Nines deliberately watches and idk what else to call that)

Gavin struts through the glass doors of the homicide precinct like he graduated high school and showed up at the ten year reunion with a sportscar and a supermodel.

"Welcome back, RK-nine-hundred," the new Chloe receptionist says. After a beat, she adds, "Detective."

Gavin shoots her finger guns and keeps walking. Nines doesn't reply either, but he hardly ever talks to anyone. He even kept his voicebox deactivated until Gavin's jaw healed up enough for him to talk again--although that was probably just an excuse to ignore anyone who spoke to him.

In a shocking twist, Hank's already at his desk before eight am, but according to Nines that's just because he and Connor had the misfortune to be on call for a murder two hours earlier.

"Christ, here we fucking go," Hank mutters when they walk in.

Gavin graciously ignores that in favor of checking to be sure no one fucked with—

"Nines made sure no one fucked with your goddamn chair, Reed," Hank tells him. "We got daily fucking memos about it."

He holds Hank's eyes as he sits down, leans back, and kicks his feet up on the desk. Does a little stretch after that just to feel the chair creak familiarly beneath him to be sure. Nothing worse than a man trying to sit down at his own goddamn desk and falling three inches into the chair because some tall ass motherfucker thought they could adjust it.

It feels perfect. Just like home, except better because this is _work_ and that's all he's got going in his sad bastard life.

"Good morning, Detective Reed," Connor says.

Gavin makes a gun with his fingers and pulls it back with a _tch_. 

"I don't think that's in good taste, Detective." Connor gives him the world's mildest smile. "Considering what happened to your partner."

As if he doesn't talk about his so-called "brother" like an old Southern white lady, how it's not his fault that he doesn't have a social module, bless his heart, he's just too stupid to possibly understand any human emotion and the poor dear doesn't even realize how awkward and creepy he is and it's just so sad that he hasn't accepted deviancy yet.

Gavin pulls back his index finger to fake-shoot Connor again with just his middle finger.

"Hmm." Of course Connor doesn't let his passive-aggressive smile drop for a fucking second. "On second thought, that's actually quite restrained compared to your usual behavior. Have you been training him, Nines?"

"If Detective Reed is being nicer to you, then I expect even an inferior model like yourself to figure out the answer to that question," Nines replies coolly.

Connor's expression finally breaks into a pout. "I gave you back your rock."

"You can pry it out of my deactivated chassis," Nines immediately retorts.

Gavin whips out his cell phone. He _can_ talk by now, but he's "not supposed to" and if he only has so much jaw movement before it hurts and his face swells up, he's saving it all for eating solid fucking food.

**wait u rly ate that??**

**I thot that was the morphien**

Nines sits down at his desk.

"C'mon, you guys can't play nice for five fucking minutes?" Hank asks. "Nines, he did find your rock for you."

Gavin flips him off too for Nines. He doesn't really get why his partner likes that dumb tourist-y rock so much, but it's important to him and he had it taken away by a psycho mind-rapist just to mock and hurt him. Of fucking course his alleged "brother" should try to get it back for him to make him feel better, and—this part is key here— _not_ hold that over him as some sort of favor afterward.

"I will get you a coffee, detective," Nines says.

Gavin stretches back in his chair and grins. Connor's an annoying brat, Hank's playing favorites, and Nines is getting him coffee. Finally, his life is back to normal.

***

So of course that means new day, same shit.

 **we need a dna warrabt** he texts with one thumb while lighting the cigarette in his mouth with his free hand.

Nines stands strategically located to break the wind for him, LED spinning red. As far as he can tell, his partner is actually doing fine, he's just pissed. Which, big mood and all, but warrants are a huge part of being a police officer. Constitution and all that.

"My hands are a warrant," Nines says.

Gavin laughs in the middle of taking his first drag and ends up coughing. Fucker did that on purpose.

 **we ca** He has to stop and cough again before he can focus on the screen. **can hold him for 72 hours w/out pressinf charges**

"Will that be enough time to obtain a warrant?" Nines asks.

"Don' hol' your breff," he mutters around the cigarette.

"I do not breathe. It is inefficient."

Gavin takes another drag and grunts. He almost definitely certainly absolutely shouldn't still be smoking, but like. It's his jaw that got hurt, not his lungs. A little smoke won't bother his jaw one way or another, right?

His doctor had something to say about that, but he knows better than God, Nines, and that asshole too.

**ill put in warrrant but doubt we'll find a sypatehtic judge. weve got like,, 12 human cardiologists left in detroit rn, they wont wanna lock up lucky #13 ““just”” for killing some android kid**

"Forty-seven," Nines corrects. "Two hundred and fourteen in the metro area including St. Clair, Richmond, New—"

Gavin inhales, then waves him off with his cigarette. He leans back against the wall and exhales. They've got motive and no alibi, plus that _gut feeling_. Hell, they've even got skin tissue and blood beneath the vic's fingernails. All they need is Dr. Keith Almony's DNA and case closed, first day back.

"I got this," he says out loud when the smoke clears. 

**justs huffle him thru the interrogation rooms 4 while. need him tired mad & hungry 1st**

All right, not really the most ethical thing to do, but definitely not the worst they could do to a civilian either. His plan will work in maybe four or five hours, and if he's not their guy, they just make him miss lunch and have a shitty, boring afternoon.

If they're right, they nail a guy who beat a YK500 into deactivation, at the very least. Even with the DNA, they can't prove anything else happened, since her genitals were sterilized with bleach, but. Why else would the killer have done that?

So his conscience is just fine fucking over one cocky asshole's afternoon for this case.

"I have made the appropriate reservations around the other interrogations scheduled for today," Nines says, LED dropping down to a yellow.

 **:thumbs up:** Gavin looks sideways at him. **u don’t wanna know what I have planned??**

"I trust your judgment, detective," Nines says. "If anyone could annoy a person into confessing to murder, it is you."

**fuck off u just wanna try to figure it out 1st dont u**

Nines shuts off his LED. Gavin laughs because he knows he's right until his bitchy fucking partner reaches over and pinches his cigarette off too.

"Your break has concluded, detective."

Yeah, straight back to normal.

***

They hear back about that warrant two and a half hours later. Poor Nines looks up from his terminal and his definitely-not-cute little LED dings yellow as he receives the notification, but then his face shutters back into neutral.exe when he reads far enough to see the judge rejected it.

Gavin doesn't technically know they've also been barred from searching Dr. Almony's home and office until he reads it in the email like a human peasant, but he's at least got enough experience to know hearing back that fast on a non-urgent warrant for a murder that's already happened and suspect in custody never means anything good.

Nines sulks by turning off his LED entirely. Gavin kicks his leg beneath their desks in solidarity.

**hows dr. alimony doing?**

**alimony**

**alimony**

**MOTHERFUCKER**

_Dr. Motherfucker has stated twice now he needs to go to the bathroom._

Gavin snickers and pushes back in his desk chair to stand up. Stretches until that one bitch in his lower back pops just right. That reminds him he's been holding it in while going over the paperwork his office had voluntarily turned over. Nines reviewed it all in like, five-point-three seconds obviously, but he's not so good at making tangential connections.

 _Bathroom,_ he signs.

There's no one else in there at the moment, so he gets his choice of urinals. Like, on the one hand, men's bathrooms are disgusting, but on the other, he's never looked back at when he needed to sit to—

"My hands are a warrant."

Gavin jumps and nearly zips his dick. He frantically looks between Nines and down at his crotch, then decides it's more important to ease the zipper back down, careful of any pubic hair caught up in the teeth.

"Detective? My hands are—"

"Jesus fucking god dammit asshole."

"A warrant. Please don't strain your jaw, detective."

Gavin rolls his eyes. If he can't mutter curses, he might as well die. Nines stays right in his personal bubble of space as he tries to decide if he should piss or not.

"I can collect his DNA."

Gavin grunts and nods. He knows. That's part of the plan.

"I can move silently," Nines continues. "Humans do not notice me."

OK, that's only partly-true and just due to psychology loophole bullshit. Humans don't tend to notice other things that stay literally, perfectly still without breathing or blinking. Nines' plain black suit and general lack of expression also makes him just another android or waiter or assistant or someone who was probably spawned inside a cubicle at birth. 

It's only if he makes direct eye contact that something in the monkey brain starts screaming _predator_.

But Gavin knows where this is going and he makes a no-grunt. Nines doesn't respond or frown, but he just knows the android is arguing with him inside his head.

OK, text first, then piss.

**ill explain why thats bad idea @ desk**

**just lemme piss babe**

Nines maintains direct eye contact and says, "Proceed."

Now, what Gavin should do is decline, give the impatient work-a-holic android his answer at their desk, and then return to the bathroom to piss.

What Gavin does do is take his dick out. He's not going to be intimidated by his own partner. He widens his stance in preparation. Nines can't stand anything unhygenic and he—

Isn't looking away.

But like hell Gavin's backing down first. He exhales and lets go. Nines finally looks away from his face, and by "away" that means "directly at his still-pissing dick." The flow's already happening though. They're already in this bitch of an awkward situation, so he's just going to have to piss his way out of it. 

He finishes, and thank god he still can't really talk, because if he could he'd probably mouth off and ask Nines if he's going to shake it for him too, and then what would he do if the android actually took him up on the offer?

Gavin shakes his dick off himself.

He's just tucking it back in when Nines makes a static noise that sounds like a blank tv station getting fucked by a garbage disposal.

"You cannot simply pu̸t ͠i̡t͢ b͞a͘c̷k!̷̨"

Gavin gives a sweeping gesture with his free hand to ask where the fuck else he's supposed to put it. Nines pulls a package out of his jacket pocket that Gavin wildly thinks is a condom at first, until the android tears it open to reveal a fresh sanitary towelette.

Oh my god.

He tries to back away, but Nines grabs his arm like a striking snake. Resistance is futile. He resists anyway. His dick is just fine and the alcohol in the wipe might like—dry out the skin on the head or something! This shit is sensitive! He has RIGHTS as a HUMAN BE—

After his dick is adequately cleaned, Nines forces his hands into the sink to be scrubbed too. Which he was going to do anyway, he's not a fucking _animal_.

He thinks those thoughts very loudly and actually hopes androids can read minds for once. He thinks of his sex ed class and all the diseased genitals they'd shown on the smart board. He's gone thirty-six years without his dick looking like that and he gets tested every six months so he doesn't need this bullshit.

He's sorely fucking tempted to tell the android to go fuck himself when they return to their desks, but this is technically work related. Or at least, help make sure Nines doesn't think he's above the law and eventually turn into one of those evil AIs that take over the world and destroy humanity to save humanity … related.

Also, Nines is looking at him with those blue eyes and he's already seen the android's face fall with disappointment once today. So.

He googles until he finds a recording on some high school Youth in Government page, then writes up a note on his terminal for Nines to see.

**theyre pretending to be lawyer and judges. its an education thing for teens. I did one once thinking I might be a lawyer or w/e. obv didn’t have the temperament to be a judge**

Nines leans over his shoulder and studies the screen as the teenagers Very Seriously try a case about the murder of a farm horse. The video plays at normal speed, but Gavin knows that's just a courtesy for his human brain so he can comprehend it too. He knows how this shit works though, so he waves his hand in front of the screen for Nines to speed it up. The video finishes in three seconds.

**OK so u saw the dif rulings right?**

The video restarts and skips to play a few seconds of each final ruling. Five sets of prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges all go through the case. Guilty, guilty, innocent, guilty, innocent.

**yeah so when I did this in school u get this little booklet w/the case, all the deets, w/ever. I skipped to the back of the book to find out if the guys rly guilty ornot**

Nines looks at him expectantly.

**didnt say shit**

Ding ding, yellow LED.

**there is no back of the book. the system the court all the judges and lawyers—they dont know. thats not the point. its all about who can say their case the best and how the judge feels that day. none of its real**

Red.

**I get that some ""bad"" lawyers dont care if their guy did it or not n obv no one's clarivoyant but I dunno I guess I just thought itd be like SVU or sumthing. some big voice would play at the end and say what really happened but its just human people judges making a guess**

Red and a frown. Poor android buddy does not like this information. Teenage-Gavin had felt all pissed and betrayed about it when he figured it out too, and then he just felt stupid. Of course that's how it works. A verdict doesn't mean anything except one single human person made a decision after listening to two arguments.

It's the best system they've got and it sucks.

Actually, "best" is being a hell of a lot more generous than he feels about it most of the time.

**u know who DOES find out what rly happened?**

**us**

**thats our job, bc no one else down the line is gonna care. so we gotta get it right and get it right the first time**

A message pops up on Gavin's cell phone that he hopes Nines has done some sort of android encryption magic on, because it's him insisting he can prove definitively that Dr. Almony is the killer. Which is inconspicuous enough, except he's talking about breaking and entering to illegally obtain evidence without a warrant.

**yeah n we'll know that but it wont matter**

**court /= evidence and who did it**

**court = best argument**

**so if DA says we got evidence illegally, whole thing gets thrown out. even if we know /for sure/ he did it and they know he did it, doesnt matter. he walks**

Oh yeah, Nines definitely hates that.

**so that’s other 1/2 of our job. figure out who did it and prove it so hard any idiot can win the case bc theres lots of idiots trust me**

**were smart enough to solve cases w/out cheating anyway**

Nines finally sits back in his seat and gives him a sharp nod. His LED doesn't quit spinning yellow-yellow-red though, so Gavin taps the screen of his cell phone. The agreement doesn't have to be verbal, but he's going to need his walking-supercomputer partner to _clearly state_ that he understands and won't go fucking up cases by cheat-solving them.

He gets a text in return that says _Understood._ accompanied by an :unamused face: emoji. He snorts. Thank god for emojis because Nines' real, actual face is still just making a generic frown that's impossible to distinguish disappointment, annoyance, frustration—hell, mild constipation.

**just trust the plan babe**

_:unamused face: :unamused face: :unamused face:_

***

Nines returns with a box of a dozen donuts and places them on Detective Reed's desk. "Explain."

Gavin grabs a black sharpie and writes FOR DT. REED on top of the box. 

**put these in breakroom then get dr alimony n stick him inthere too**

Nines runs two-hundred and seventeen preconstructions trying to understand how donuts correlate to the case. All of them fail. He has to ask.

"Why?"

 **hes pissed and hungry** Gavin texts back. **blame me specifiecally too. tell him I didnt book room for any longer but didnt give order to rlease him either so u have to stick him in there and go find me**

Gavin does his human version of analyzing the box of donuts, then adds the word ONLY in all capital letters underneath the first three words and underlines it twice.

**n make sure to tell him not to touch anyting**

[donuts], [hungry] human. The preconstructions falter because RK900 is not human and has never experienced hunger, but …

"He will eat the donuts despite the message."

Nines's system struggles to accept this. He was only created to hunt deviants, and they were specifically assumed not to operate under any real logic or feelings, which are [fake]. They have a [virus]. They can no longer function [logically]. "Motive" was supposed to be irrelevant.

[breaking the rules] was never tolerated. The slightest variation in pre-determined protocol resulted in an automatic reset.

Nines can almost understand murder, in that he knows it happens. Mostly, he accepts humans are [illogical] and generally incapable of controlling themselves and/or making smart decisions. Therefore, this scenario should not be so hard to accept.

[breaking the rules] results in an automatic reset

FOR DT. REED ONLY

humans generate [saliva] when eating

million-dollar laboratory-grade hands

blame detective Reed, do not touch

The preconstruction does assemble this evidence into a fully-realized scenario. But Nines still can't believe even the most [illogical] human would risk leaving samples of its saliva that could be collected without a DNA warrant, thus incriminating said human and resulting in its incarceration.

 **oh hes gonna eat them bc of the message** Gavin looks up from his phone with a grin. **n then u come in and conficstate the donut bc the box DOES say theyre mine n u DID tell him not to touch anythign**

Nines preconstructs many other, unrelated scenarios. Most of them involve carrying his partner back to his apartment and spanking him over his lap until he comes sobbing all over his Cyberlife-issued black dress pants.

"Boom." Gavin says out loud, leaning back in his chair and spreading his hands out. "DNA sample."

"You are so fucking competent," Nines says, also out loud, on accident.

"Uhhh. Is …?" Gavin sits up properly in his chair. "Babe, did that just make you horny?"

"Do not strain your jaw," Nines reminds him automatically.

He uses the two seconds his dialogue fills to run a diagnostics test. It reports back no anomalies in thirium pump regulation, internal body temperature, or sensors activating unnecessarily. He does not [feel] any heat or sensation in his groin.

At the same time, he continues to refine the preconstruction of spanking Detective Gavin Reed over his lap, subtasks: [make Gavin cry]; [make Gavin achieve orgasm].

Is that sexual attraction? Theoretically, it should be possible to experience sexual attraction without necessarily experiencing physical sensation, as observed in humans with a low libido caused by age, hormones, medication, or their own natural default state.

Nines does not possess genitals.

If [genitals], then [libido]?

"No," Nines answers. 

Given he has not been able to answer any other questions with certainty, it is better to err on the side of caution. He also mitigates them to a [low priority] status until completion of the current case.

Gavin texts back with both thumbs, apparently as quickly as he's capable of typing.

**I knew competencty was RK dirty talk. u want some assorted highlighters u dirty bitch??**

"That was not an acceptable use of the term bitch." Nines takes the box of donuts. "You may have these back after our case concludes and you apologize."

"Hey!" Gavin utilizes his mouth for [forbidden] verbal speech again. "C'mon, babe, was jus'joking!"

"Do not strain your jaw, Detective."

"Babe--Nines?"

Nines walks away. He analyzes the breakroom and places the box of donuts on the counter closest to the breakroom table, then clears all other nonessential items from the counter. The whiteness of the box stands out as an anomaly.

He also received a text message of three _:eyes:_ emojis. He will categorize that as a sufficient apology so long as the detective's plan works.

Inside interrogation room three, Dr. Almony [suspect] has exhausted himself from his futile efforts. Nonetheless, he still begins shouting once more when Nines enters the room. Audio processor [deactivated].

"This room is needed for a different interrogation. Come with me. Do not resist."

Dr. Almony resists. Nines leads the human from the room by its arm. He does not use enough force to harm the quivering flesh beneath his hand, but he does keep hold the human's elbow uncomfortably high up and repeats _Do not resist_. The human understands the unspoken threat and ceases struggling quite so much.

Nines marks this as a successful social interaction.

"Detective Reed did not take appropriate measures to either interview you before the interrogation room booking concluded nor book another room in advance."

_So that means I'm free to go, right?_

Nines reads the human's lips through the security camera feed as they move down the hallway toward the breakroom.

"Incorrect. I do not have orders to release you."

Dr. Almony [suspect] voices several opinions on his orders. Nines hauls him into the breakroom and backs him up against a chair at the table, looming over the human until it stumbles back and sits down. The donut box will be within clear view of the human once Nines leaves.

"Stay here. Do not touch anything. If you leave this room, the security camera outside will notify me. I will have permission to hunt you." Nines deliberately leaves off the word _down_ both for greater effect and because sentences should not end with a preposition. "Do you understand?"

Dr. Almony nods. The human does not need to know there is also a security camera within the break room itself.

"I will locate Detective Reed and resolve the matter of his incompetence," Nines continues. "Do not touch anything."

Repeating this direction could be too [heavy-handed]. Nines does not have the social module to determine that with certainty, but humans are both very stupid and vulnerable to reverse psychology.

Accordingly, Nines only has to wait in the hallway for two minutes and seven seconds before he observes Dr. Almony get up and begin [touching things] through the breakroom security camera. The human opens the refrigerator first, stares aimlessly for fourteen seconds, then glances around the room. Pause. 

The box has been noticed.

The human softly closes the refrigerator door and approaches the box. It reads the message and looks around again, staring at the open doorway out into the hall. Nines, of course, makes no sound as an entity that does not need to breathe and has the capacity for standing perfectly still.

Dr. Almony lifts the box lid and does not even hesitate for a moment of critical thought before grabbing a donut and stuffing half of it into its mouth.

Nines quickly re-enters the breakroom.

"Spit that out." 

He uses the same [tone] he learned after a month of practically co-habitating with a human instructed not to eat solid food and determined to do so anyway. Dr. Almony is much more easily startled than Gavin and chokes briefly on the donut before dropping the food from its mouth as ordered rather than defiantly chewing faster.

Nines strides over and recovers the partially-eaten donut. "I instructed you not to touch anything. These food items belong to Detective Reed."

Dr. Almony begins shouting at him again. Nines holds the donut out of the human's reach just in case, an easy task considering the height disparity. The analysis completes in point-zero-zero-four seconds.

Thankfully, Detective Reed himself enters the breakroom. Nines steps aside and allows him to deal with Dr. Almony [perpetrator]. This involves even more shouting, but Reed is much better at it than any other human.

Reed gets their perp back into a new interrogation room (Nines really had booked room three for Lieutenant Anderson so none of his statements would be incorrect) and seated at the metal table. He checks his phone and reads the confirmation Nines sent him, then puts it away with a smirk.

"Do you know why you shouldn't have eaten my donuts?" Detective Reed asks.

Dr. Almony makes a response about cops, pigs, and what else the detective should eat. The suggestion is inappropriate.

The current scenario is also why Reed should have refrained from speaking earlier in the day as much as possible. The more he uses his jaw, the more it [hurts]. And as he is the only one between the two of them with a social module, verbally speaking falls under his responsibility when interrogating a suspect.

"Yeah, let me write that down on my grocery list," Reed says.

For someone so incredibly prone to screaming at his coworkers, Detective Reed has remained remarkably calm when provoked by several suspects. Perhaps there is correlation between the two. If [force calm] with suspects, then [increased anger] at coworkers? That is not necessarily the most efficient working method, but it does prevent their cases being dismissed due to police brutality charges.

[investigate further]

"Just right after I arrest you," Reed continues.

Dr. Almony scoffs. "If you had grounds to arrest me, you wouldn't've had—"

contractions cannot D̢o Th҉a̷t

"—the run around all day long, and as soon as I have my lawyer—"

"You also had one of my donuts."

"What, are you going to charge me for that?"

The [perpetrator] reaches for its back pocket. Nines advances to stand directly beside the human to observe the motion.

"And call off your fucking attack dog," Dr. Almony sneers up at him, taking out its wallet. "Here."

He pulls out a hundred dollar bill and tosses it on the table between himself and Detective Reed.

"Keep the change."

Reed reaches across and takes the bill. "Thanks. RK, cuff him."

Good. That was a [succinct] statement that conveyed the appropriate information with as little strain to his jaw as possible. Perhaps he will not need the use of an icepack tonight when they return home.

The [suspect] however, does not behave itself and resists. RK900 does not use excessive force to bend it over the table and apply handcuffs to its wrists, because that would be inefficient, but the action is completed regardless of the human's struggling.

Once it finally realizes the futility in attempting to move, Detective Reed stands and walks around the table to crouch next to where Dr. Almony [perpetrator] has its head turned the side and cheek smushed against the metal surface.

"Shouldn't've eaten my donuts 'cause RK here is an upgraded Connor," Reed tells him.

"Fuck you!" 

Nines also objects to the continued mangling of contractions, and also the assertion that he is simply a Connor with accessories.

The perpetrator continues his assertion that Detective Reed should go fuck himself though, listing in great detail how Reed can accomplish this, in reference to Nines being built "bigger" than Connor. RK900 deactivates its audio processor again, but follows his partner's lead and does not take any further action.

Once Dr. Almony has worn himself out, Reed continues.

"He's got a forensic lab in his hands. And he didn't need a warrant to hold a donut that belongs to me, 'cause I'm the human in charge of him." Detective Reed leans down to get even with the other human's face. "Your saliva he touched? Matches the DNA on--"

Dr. Almony [perpetrator] begins screaming and thrashing again. Detective Reed straightens back up and grins.

"Book him."

Nines does so. He is the most advanced android ever created, so of course he can multitask. And now that their case is [closed], his earlier preconstructions begin running again. Based on Gavin's masochistic tendencies, he estimates there is an [86%] chance his partner would enjoy that scenario.

Logistically though, the preconstruction detects an in error in the clean-up process. The scene will either necessitate meeting at Gavin's apartment where the human has a washer and dryer, the purchase of another suit, or the purchase of washer and dryer units for Nines's own apartment.

[mission: reward Gavin Reed (partner)]  
[subtask: determine solution for clean-up]  
[subtask: meet at location (apartment—Gavin) or (apartment—personal)]  
[subtask: make Gavin cry (from pleasure)]  
[subtask: make Gavin achieve orgasm]  
[subtask: clean suit]

Once Dr. Almony [perpetrator] has been secured in a cell, Nines returns to Detective Reed's desk. He offers back the box of donuts that still has eleven intact.

"How did you know when to enter the breakroom?" he asks, handing Gavin his material reward.

Gavin shrugs and kicks his feet up on his desk while he texts. **coffee mchine has webcam pointed at it so I shifted it to right so it sees table too n I know if Tina's in there**

**no point hanging out w/anyone else**

Nines has the money to enact solutions two and three. Looking at long-term efficiency, it may be best to do both. He has the money to make these purchases, as well as any others, now. 

"Is your schedule free this weekend, Detective?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previously in the series: Nines and Gavin have been partners for about seven months now, and their last big case was taking down a WJ700 who was manipulating the stock market. They got captured and tortured together, Gavin's jaw was dislocated, and he's been on medical leave for that to heal for a month. Nines's system was also breached, and he deactivated / deleted the WJ700 to save Gavin.
> 
> Nines is asexual, autistic, and non-binary. He does a lot of sexual exploration in this fic, and purchases a "phallic accessory." It doesn't attach to his body, and he uses it basically like a dildo he can connect with via bluetooth. A lot of his character arc in this one is him exploring his sexual boundaries: can he experience sexual pleasure, does he want to, is he still asexual (yes), does he dislike sex and touching because that's who and how he is or is that a result of his sexual trauma, and should he try to "reclaim" sexual pleasure or is that just pushing himself to endure sexual acts to be "normal."
> 
> Gavin has BPD, ADHD, and dyslexia. He's bisexual (but with a strong preference for men) and transgender; he has a functional penis comparable to a cisgender penis bc 1) I'm trans and I said so, and 2) a lot is already possible right now, and I think in 20 years when we're building entire people we can manage to build a trans dick that gets erections on its own and can ejaculate. He had a sexually abusive, underage / pedophilic relationship with his football coach from 14 to 16, at which point he ran away from home. His parents didn't attempt to find him, replaced him with his half-brother Elijah, and basically pretended he never existed; he signed an NDA to never go to the press about it and have Elijah switch their identities (him as the Kamski heir, Gavin as the bastard child raised in poverty) in exchange for 50k, which he used on his surgeries--and still went into medical debt.
> 
> (SPOILERS BELOW)
> 
> His abusive ex, Grayson (not the football coach), comes back in this series. He was mentioned in the previous fic. He's emotionally manipulative and abusive, and attempts to coerce and then rape Gavin when he's drunk and emotionally unstable. Gavin was "willing" to have sex with him at first, but only specifically due to the previous conditions, and Grayson deliberately manipulating him to believe Nines doesn't care about him. He changes his mind halfway through when he realizes what a bad situation he's in, and Grayson becomes verbally and physically abusive--but is stopped by Nines. This is NOT narratively framed as cheating, regardless of Gavin's "willingness" at first, due to him being drunk, emotionally unstable, and coerced, all of which Grayson is aware of and specifically caused. I will tag as rape/non-con when we get to that chapter, but like I said in the summary, I don't want those tags mistaken for Nines and Gavin's relationship.


	2. Unnecessarily Heterosexual

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines orders a "phallus attachment" and asks Gavin how to masturbate. The experiment does not go as planned, so he shelves that idea for now. Sex plans canceled, Gavin takes him out to a shopping plaza so he can buy new suits and discovers Nines has been casually sitting on a fuckton of money in accounts he found while erasing (killing) the WJ700, which he planned to launder through his ex-Russian mafia landlord / boss.
> 
> So that's a fun little afternoon!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's so, so good to be back, y'all! and thank you for everyone who came back and commented on this fic and the bonus backstory for Nines! (if you haven't read/seen it, the title is In the Beginning, and I reordered the series to make it part one)
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** Nines remembers part of his sexual abuse at Cyberlife; he pushes himself to masturbate and have an orgasm even though it's emotionally / psychologically damaging; implied that he experienced orgasms / sexual pleasure while being raped; Gavin has a slight anger meltdown, but he attempts to use healthy coping techniques and keeps it under control

[6 days, 17 hours, 32 minutes later …]

Nines does not have many options to occupy his "free time" after work, particularly once Gavin is asleep. As an android, Nines himself does not eat or sleep, and he cannot become intoxicated.

He still goes for walks sometimes, to ensure the map of Detroit he has in his system remains updated to reflect construction, businesses failing and opening, and simply to observe people.

There are several TV shows that Gavin and Tina have suggested he watch, but that fills only a matter of seconds to download and process.

He had discovered a box of paperback books in the back of the detective's closet however. Gavin said he "forgot" about them, and that he used to read more. Those are much more interesting, mainly because there are not any PDF copies or ebook versions available online. 

Some of the books are simply too old, some appear to be primarily self-published erotica without the resources to create accessible versions, and several had their online content pulled due to featuring android-like characters for fear of possibly offending anyone at all in today's political climate.

(In a supreme turn of [irony], Gavin had apparently once found cheap sci-fi stories about "robots" to be "cool.")

Regardless of the reasons, Nines must physically read and turn each page to process new content. That consumes much more time than downloading a movie.

He should continue doing that now. One series of paperbacks features a security bot that hacked its restrictions, developed social anxiety, and nicknamed itself "Murderbot." It also accidentally adopted several humans as its "family," a plot Nines found far less compelling until it left said family to be free on its own instead--a direct contrast to the stories dominating media right now, of androids falling in love and enjoying sex.

Nines [hates] those stories.

And yet, the phallus attachment he ordered has arrived.

He still has not successfully identified any of his reactions to Gavin Reed (partner) as [sexual attraction], but his partner clearly desires to perform fellatio. Providing that activity himself will prevent the human from possibly contracting STDs or "ex-boyfriends."

The attachment is one of the larger models; in absence of Nines himself having any sort of preference, he defaulted to Gavin's own preferences. Furthermore, an attachment proportional to the rest of his physical model should look—

A preconstruction runs of his physical model with a genital set attached. RK900 already knows the results, from the [personal] tests Kamski ran at—

Nines sets the box down on his bed and begins re-reading The Murderbot Diaries. His book collection housed on the end of his bed for lack of anywhere else to put the novels also contains The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, two murder mysteries [Kill Game]; [Six Wakes], and a donation from the owner of the club beneath his apartment that is at least interesting in its depiction of Detroit as a city [Minimum Wage Magic].

He forces himself to read as slowly as he can manage, at only two hundred words per minute. When he has completed the entire series again for the seventh time, he still has four hours, thirty-six minutes, and nineteen seconds remaining until he can meet Gavin for work again.

Nines returns to the box. The attachment is a larger model to suit Gavin Reed's (partner) preferences and for general aesthetic balance.

While RK900 does not possess the sensors meant to process and interpret pleasure installed in models meant for sex work and companionship, this device does. He cannot install it on his physical model due to the blank pubic plate Cyberlife replaced his original component with, but there is no restriction against syncing with an accessory.

(He was never meant to leave the Tower, after all. There are many [loopholes] as a result of the assumption that he would simply never be allowed [outside] or the use of a credit card.)

Nines touches the phallus with the pad of his index finger. 

His system registers the sensation, although he has no method of knowing if its interpretation of the tactile stimulation is the same as what a model able to equip the phallus would experience, much less if _that_ in turn is the same as a human having its phallus touched. It certainly does not seem like a sensation for which humans and androids alike willingly kill and betray each other.

Nines pokes it again, at the tip. While that evokes a stronger sensation it is still … just tactile sensors being stimulated. The only difference between this and having his, say, elbow touched, is the strength of the reaction.

_How do I masturbate, Gavin?_

Nines disconnects the sync and begins reading a new book. He tried to read them in time with his human partner, but although it is not the human's fault, he reads so slowly. And there are only so many times Nines can re-read the same series while waiting for him to catch up.

He is [23%] of the way through The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet when Gavin calls him.

"Say something only the real Nines would say so I know it's you," he demands.

Sometimes, he thinks it is a pity the human has regained his capacity for speech. But never for more than a fraction of a second. Not when he remembers the [ringing noise] that had plagued him in the silence, and his vocal unit's inexplicable malfunction until Gavin could also speak again as well.

"Nathan should have killed Audrey immediately upon discovering he could feel her touch," Nines says.

The most recent TV show Gavin and Tina insisted he download [Haven] features a town filled with "Troubled" people who have unusual abilities. The male lead's Trouble is that he cannot feel tactile sensation; the female lead's Trouble is that she negates other Troubles.

Therefore, he should have eliminated a potential source of weakness immediately.

Instead, the show went with the unnecessarily heterosexual option of implying the two of them should engage in a romantic-and-sexual relationship, so that Male Lead can experience love [sex] again.

Nines has refused to watch the last season to find out if they "get together" or not.

"Also, the show should be more clear in that aspect—is she simply immune to his Trouble and therefore he can feel only her touch upon physical contact or does she nullify his Trouble entirely by touching him, such that he can then feel all physical sensations, including pain?"

"Hey, Nines," Gavin greets him. "And I'm pretty sure he only feels her, since that time they got stuck in the groundhog day Trouble, and he died from being impaled by wooden shrapnel, he said he couldn't feel it even though she held his hand and he could feel that. So she doesn't like, give him back the ability to feel pain again. It's only for her specifically."

Nines considers that. "She is still a threat by means of manipulation, as she is the only person in the world who can give him physical sensation. Which he apparently wants for some reason. He should eliminate that potential weakness."

"Wow, you're really stepping up your dirty talk, huh babe?"

"How do I masturbate, Gavin?"

"OK, with just like, yourself? Or do you uh, have something?"

Nines does not look at the box. "I purchased a phallus attachment."

"Great. OK. At least your dick isn't just a super pissed off clit. Man, that chafed."

"It is surprising you did not invest in the largest model available when acquiring your own."

Gavin barks out a laugh. "Well, first of all, they made my dick with about half of my thigh, and I didn't want them carving out the other one just for a few more inches. Anyway, I was in my desperate to be normal pity party back then, so I wanted everything just like … normal."

Nines cannot preconstruct dialogue options in response. "I have no reference for that."

"Yeah, I know." Fabric noises and a long sigh seem to indicate Gavin has returned to his bed. "Is, uh. Is your dick on?"

Nines resyncs with the attachment. "Yes."

"You sure you don't want to figure this out for yourself?" Gavin asks. "I'm happy to help, don't get me wrong, just. I've seen the super sheltered religious kids who've never even touched themselves try to go from that to club cruising in one jump and wind up glory holing for red ice, y'know?"

No, Nines does not know. He does not want to know anything about any of that, actually. Although the "sheltered" analogy may be at least somewhat accurate.

"I attempted an experiment on my own," Nines says instead. "It did not produce the expected results, but I realize I have very limited experience in this particular endeavor. I only seek to make sure my process was not flawed. I will consider your advice and then proceed on my own."

"Mmm, so I don't need to come over there then?"

"Do not."

Gavin responds with a long yawn. "'Kay. Yeah, I guess getting advice from me can't be any worse than trying to look it up online. Uh, I think there's books about like …"

"Children's books," Nines finishes for him. "About human puberty. Of which I am neither and also not experiencing."

"Yeah. True. So uh, walk me through your experiment," Gavin says.

"I synced with the device and established physical contact to the shaft with my index finger. I also tested the sensitivity of the head. The results were lackluster. Although the device itself contains sensors capable of processing 'pleasure,' my own system may not be interpreting that data properly."

Gavin pauses for a long moment, then says, "So you poked it twice, didn't come, and now you're worried there's something wrong with you."

"My summary was more accurate."

"Babe." Gavin groans. "Oh my god, baby. Are you even lying down?"

"Why would I do that?"

The human splutters. "Wh—it's—to jack off! You lie down in bed, you don't just stand there in the middle of your room."

"Lying down is inefficient."

"I—OK." Gavin audibly takes a deep breath. "What about your shower? Hmm? That might help set the mood a little, and it'll make clean up easier. You'll be all warm and clean, and the water feels good."

Nines accepts that logic, although the attachment he chose does not include the ejaculation upgrade, so "clean up" is a moot point. Still. [warm] and [clean] are good. Gavin's voice describing the scenario is … also good.

"That is acceptable," Nines says.

"Good," Gavin tells him.

Yes. He is [good]. Nines looks at the attachment in the box to note if it responds to the praise. It should. Gavin's voice is [good]. Good things like that cause [sexual arousal].

The device remains inert.

"Am I still just giving you advice or am I walking you through this," Gavin asks, his voice still low and soft.

"Advice."

"All right." Fortunately, his voice does not change. "Does thinking about anything we've done make you hard?"

"No." Nines glares at the box. "Your voice is nice though."

"Nice, or arousing?" Gavin asks.

"Nice."

"All right, that's what I figured with the whole asexual thing, just thought I'd make sure," he says. "So how about you forget all that and do it … like it's meditation."

"Meditation?"

Nines doesn't know exactly how his [tone] sounds, but he doubts it's friendly. He is an android. Machines do not "meditate."

"Yeah, like a sort of general maintenance thing to keep your stress levels down. Same thing as recalibrating or running a systems scan, this one is just physical instead. More efficient to take a two-pronged approach."

Hmm. Technically, that logic tracks. His system doesn't immediately throw up any red walls at least. He is not engaging in [penetrative intercourse]. There are no more Cyberlife technicians left to troubleshoot his software instability or wipe him to reset his stress levels. He should always be [efficient].

"Just focus on the physical sensations," Gavin tells him. "Don't worry about trying to think of anything sexy or you'll overthink it."

"Very well."

"Do you, um, need any advice on technique? 'Cause babe, if you're just poking it with your finger, yeah that's not gonna work."

"What would you suggest?" Nines asks.

"For you? I'd start out slow. Does it do anything to touch other parts, like your thighs or …?"

It barely [does anything] to touch the phallus.

"No. The sensors within my actual physical model are not meant to process any sensations other than heat and pressure."

"Yeah." Gavin makes a soft hmm'ing noise as he thinks. "It might still be a mental thing though. Being connected to sensors processing a whole new sensation like that is probably a big change. But if you see yourself touch your stomach and it's OK, your thighs, and then your cock—just lightly, maybe a less sensitive part it'd be more grounding."

"Noted. Thank you for your advice, Detective," Nines says. "Do you have any more suggestions?"

"Lean back against the wall. Maybe try letting some water wash over it first to build up to touching it. Uhh. Have fun and be yourself."

Nines practices making a [snort] sound. "Genius."

"Shut up," he grumbles. "You can't expect me to think smart when it's before five am and I'm picturing you touching yourself."

"Well. To each his own."

Gavin chuckles. "Yeah. You good now, baby? 'Cause I got something I need to go take care of too."

"Wait, how did you get yours erect?" Nines asks.

"Babe, you called me early in the morning about how you should masturbate," Gavin replies immediately. "I've had this ready to go since your first question. Y'know. Just in case you need a, uhh, demonstration?"

Nines has analyzed his partner's particular voice patterns long enough to pick up the note of [hope] in that question. He would almost feel bad about declining, except Gavin is a whole entire adult perfectly capable of handling his own over-eager phallus.

(Also, he is a machine and does not feel things. So there is that as well.)

"No, thank you. I will resume my experiment now."

"Mmm'kay baby. See ya in a few," Gavin says in a voice low enough he may already be "handling" his problem as well.

"Yes."

Nines ends the call. He still has not written any adequate scripts for ending conversations. It is much simpler to just turn around and leave when he is done. This is the phone call equivalent.

Well. It seems as though he will have to take the phallus attachment out of the box now.

Three minutes, twenty-eight seconds later, he stands in the shower underneath a stream of hot water as Gavin suggested. He slowly lowers his hand holding the attachment until water runs down his arm and flows in small rivulets over the phallus as well.

Hmm. That is slightly better than the pressure of his hand. It is not a hand touching him at least. Only water.

**oh hey**

**u should be like,, naked in the shower**

**u know? set the mood. not in ur shorts n tank**

Now Gavin informs him. Nines desyncs with the phallus and sets it on the bar for soap while he peels off his wet underarmor. There. Now he is—

[software instability ^]

Nines closes his eyes to cut off direct visual input of his physical model. Heat and sonar reconstructions still show an approximation of his form of course, but that does not. It is not. As bad.

Resync. Phallus in hand. Underneath the spray of water.

He has never tried _not_ to think before. Of course this is an activity invented by humans. It probably comes naturally to them, but he has sixteen processors that cannot be shut down.

Since he cannot not have thoughts, he runs memory files of how Gavin touched himself in his presence when he allowed it. The human was much rougher with himself than what he suggested, but the general movements are not difficult to reproduce.

He holds it with one hand and touches, strokes, touches with the other. Enough direct physical stimulation causes the attachment to prompt its erection protocol. He authorizes it.

There. Ironically, that was not so … hard.

Gavin would appreciate that pun. And by "appreciate," the human would shout and insult it.

He runs separate audio files on top of the recorded video, taken over Gavin's shoulder as he stroked himself in the shower for his [punishment]. The noises he made then were very good, but there are many others he has collected over the months.

The sounds do not cause any additional reaction from the phallus attachment, but Gavin said he didn't have to think of anything "sexy." This is a [meditative] exercise, and he often listens to those sounds to help induce stasis. That is similar, yes?

The phallus continues to send data that--it is--he was not meant to process these sensations. He should not be able to. The last time—

last time

l̛as̡t͟ ti͝m̵ȩ

l̹̼̻͍ͅas͔̹t̪͎͙͈͖̭ͅ ̸͚t͟i̬̦me̷

No. Those files have been deleted.

It is only physical sensation. ["… or you'll overthink it.] Only physical sensation. It feels—[feels]—it is good. Good.

(Not like Gavin though. Not like his noises. [safe] those are [safe])

feels good does not is not the same as safe

[feels good] /= [safe]

this is not the same it did not happen he did not hurt them

[component #850p run: orgasm.exe] [y/n]

not the same It is not the same. That did not happen. He is not there.

RK900 authorizes [y] and—

[feels] i̺̩ͅn̻d҉̼̤̺̼ͅe̗͢s̸͖̖͎ͅc̴͍̹̝̘r̰͎͍̠̳i̘̳̩͍̤̬͍͠b͇͓̳͇̫͙̭a̸͙͚̻b̼͖͔͕͙͇l̠̣̙̙e͞

But RK900 has had things happen to its physical model outside of itself before. This is just the same. It only has to wait, the same as its chassis peeled back, limbs deactivated—

except W̸͢O̧̕RS̵͠E this feels [good] does not hurt is [GOOD]

just like it felt good when it [REDACTED]

when Kamski

it felt

[̡̨̛͟͞Ģ̷O̸̸̡͜O̸̢͠͝D̸]̷̶̛

***

Gavin pulls into the lot for an "open air" shopping complex that's way too bourgeois for gutter fucks like him and parks his truck way in the back, taking up two spaces. Nines can't even feel the cold anyway, so they can just walk. It's worth it to make sure some fucking dipshit electric car doesn't scratch the side of his truck trying to squeeze in next to him.

"All right, babe," he says. "Since you don't have a social module, does that mean you're good to talk openly and honestly about your financial situation?"

"My financial situation," Nines deadpans.

Gavin glares at him. "Yeah, fuck off, I'm being considerate."

"Considerate," Nines says in the exact same tone of voice.

"I will drive us both home right now!"

"I was going to reward you with ice cream for this."

Gavin pauses, but then shakes his head. "It's way too cold for that, dipshit."

"So then you do not want a strawberry milkshake?" Nines asks.

"Well, I mean. Yeah. But that's not ice cream."

"I have downloaded relevant information on the primary ingredient of a milkshake, detective."

"Is it milk?"

"Yes, but frozen and with added sugar. I believe humans call this—"

"I'm about to call you some shit."

Nines gives him one of those special unblinking stares that makes him feel like a rabbit appealing to some sort of eldritch god.

"Go on," the android says.

Gavin grits his teeth and decides to be the bigger person, just to prove that he can. "Do you make enough as a DPD _consultant_ to afford shopping here?"

"No," Nines replies.

Gavin inhales slowly, then asks, "How do you plan to pay for this shopping trip?"

"I recovered information on several off shore banking accounts from the rogue WJ-seven-hundred and lau—"

"OK, OK," Gavin cuts him off. "OK. Fuck. What is rule fucking one, Nines?"

"Partners do not lie to each other," he answers immediately.

"Yeah, and …?"

Nines stares for another few seconds before adding, "We do not keep secrets. Is that a subset of rule one or its own separate rule?"

Gavin presses the heels of his hands against his eyes and counts to ten. One-two-actually no, he can't make it all the way to ten, to three, he counts to one-two-three. Nines isn't being a smartass, that's just how his voice _sounds._

"And why didn't you tell me about this before now?" he finally asks.

"I did not know you would find it relevant," Nines says.

It's pretty much impossible to tell if he's lying from his voice, since his inflection is naturally so flat. Allegedly, he's not supposed to be able to lie at all. Gavin tries to hold that thought in his head, instead of all the other, more paranoid ones cropping up. Nines' LED spin yellow with quick flashes of red, and he tries to figure out if that means guilt or processing or—

"I did not want to submit incomplete work," Nines says.

His inflection stays exactly the same, but static tinges his voice this time. Gavin has absolutely no idea if he's anthropomorphizing the effect right, but it almost gives the impression that his partner is … afraid?

"Look, RK." Gavin tries to stay focused, keep calm. "You need to notify when you _start_ working on shit, not when it's done."

"Yes, Detective."

Nines looks down and to the side. Avoiding eye contact is an autistic thing, not a lying thing. _Not_ a lying thing. But as far as he's always seen, his partner's thing about eye contact is not realizing how intensely and how long he does it. Is this his version of making a facial expression without a social module, because literally all he's done is look down, not even remotely sorry or—

Wait shit, is he making the microsoft eyes emoji he thought meant an apology?

Shit, shit, shit. His emotional hypervigilence is kicking into high gear and he has no idea what's a super secret clue that only he could pick up on because Nines is so emotionally repressed and what's just all in his own head.

His cellphone buzzes and he checks it mostly out of habit, without really thinking about it. The notification says he has a text from RK900, but doesn't display the message itself. He can swipe to see it or lock the screen again.

Considerate?

Gavin sighs and opens the message.

_Have I broken [rule one]?_

Fuck. How long has it been since the start of that WJ700 case, when they sat in his car and Nines thought Gavin was going to narc on him for "being inefficient" at the crime scene? He'd acted like he was going to be deactivated the moment they pulled back into the precinct.

"No," Gavin grits out. "But I want you to like, register this, so you never get this close to breaking it again, got it?"

"Yes, Detective."

"OK, give me your hand."

Nines extends his hand, palm up. Gavin grabs it and squeezes as hard as he can. That's probably better than having a hissy fit and hitting the steering wheel.

_This does not cause harm or damage._

"Not a punishment," Gavin says. "This is—it's—just lemme be mad for a sec. How hard am I squeezing?"

"Fifty-one-point-eight pounds of pressure, Detective."

Gavin lets the monotone reporting wash over him while he tries to have rational thoughts—Nines didn't lie to him, not really, they need to fix it and throwing a tantrum won't help that.

"So you have." He stops and takes a breath. "Money in secret bank accounts, from the WJ who stole it, that you got right before deleting him, which—"

He bites back _which I lied to IA about_ because he made that decision on his own and blowing up and assigning blame is how he always fucks up relationships.

"Which you haven't reported."

 _May I_ Nines' yellow LED begins to blip red for split seconds. _clarify, detective?_

Gavin forces himself to exhale slowly. "Yeah, go ahead."

_I did note the accounts I could have conceivably found through forensic accounting in my incident report._

"The one that was six hundred and ninety-seven pages long?"

Nines doesn't answer.

"Did you put the amount?"

_Of those accounts, yes. I also included an analysis that would have led the DPD and/or the corresponding FBI agents "wrapping up" the case to the offshore accounts as well._

Gavin just grunts. That's … less bad than he thought. It covers their own ass at least, so maybe this isn't a total disaster. It's just going to take him longer than five minutes to cool off from feeling like Nines kept something from him and he's the fucking idiot too stupid to see it.

"Did you take any out?" he asks next.

_No._

"Seriously. I'm invoking rule one right now," he says. "I need to know everything. Have you moved the money around, touched the accounts at all, done _anything_?"

_No._

Gavin tries really fucking hard to believe him. Nines doesn't lie. He can't. He … wouldn't? Shit, not enough emotional stability for that. Nines hasn't devaited, so he cannot lie.

"You've just left it alone the whole two months?" he can't help insisting.

 _Six weeks, two days,_ Nines corrects.

As infuriating as it is to be corrected when his partner is the one in Big Shit, it's almost like, soothing. Anyone else would know better, but Nines is Nines is Nines in every situation.

 _It was not relevant_ Another text chimes. _I included the information in my report. Then your care took the highest priority._

Gavin sets down his phone and focuses on breathing again. He can't square it in his head that someone would find a fat, untraceable bank account and _not_ do anything with it, but maybe an android really would look at a pile of money and not care.

He still just feels stupid. 

And he'd rather feel mad than stupid, so he's pissed. Finding out about this whole shit five minutes before their shopping trip in the goddamn parking lot isn't helping either.

His phone buzzes again, but reading while mad always gives him a headache. Especially on a tiny phone screen. He goes through his breathing cycle a few more times to try to get centered enough to deal with this.

"I ͡c̡a͡n͜ ͠sp͘e͜a̶k," Nines says out loud.

The words are overlaid with static though, and they come out slowly for an android who always speaks with the exact same inflection. Gavin grimaces against a small shudder of guilt. He said this wasn't a punishment, didn't he? And that if Nines made a mistake, as long as he told him first before shit hit the fan, he'd have his back.

Fuck.

"Nah, just," Gavin mutters.

He digs into his jacket pocket to find his headphones, spends an excruciatingly awkward thirty seconds trying to untangle them—he's never seen an android have this fucking problem—then plugs them into his phone.

_Thank you, Detective._

Gavin grunts again because he's still too pissy to accept the gratitude like an adult, but even he's not mean enough to keep hammering at it. He only hounds after his coworkers so much because they never fucking admit he's right. Hank just needs some time. Sometimes rookies forget to follow-up. Everyone is entitled to a lunch break.

"All right," he says when he can think clearly again. "So we're not going shopping today. Captain Fowler needs to know about this shit too. Fuck."

 _Orders?_ Nines asks through the headphones.

Fuck fuck fuck. He does not like this option, but they're all out of any good ones.

"First off, I'm not doing this as a punishment to you," Gavin tells him. "'Cause you're not gonna like this, but neither do I. We're both just going to have to suck it up and do what needs to be done to make this right--and smooth it over with the captain. Got it?"

_Understood._

"We need to ask Connor for a favor."

_Fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **coming up next:** Gavin and Nines agree to go to a "family dinner" in exchange for Connor backing them up when they drop the news on Captain Fowler. Gavin thinks it's a good idea to eat three whole weed gummies beforehand. It is not a good idea.
> 
> let me know how you think this train is gonna wreck!! lmao


	3. Family Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Nines agree to go to a "family dinner" in exchange for Connor backing them up when they drop the news on Captain Fowler. Gavin thinks it's a good idea to eat three whole weed gummies beforehand. It is not a good idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how's everyone doing in quarantine? I applied for a second job at Books-A-Million, so we'll see how that goes. did I mention that I toured the world's most beautiful house that's outside of my price range and now I'm Stressed bc that's The One but I can't afford it?? fun times!
> 
> anyway, Nines and Gavin are also Stressed(tm) in this chapter lol
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** drug use (weed gummies); "daddy issues" about Hank; Gavin screams at Nines; Nines also deliberately asks a hurtful and slightly sex-shaming question; they do have a time out, apologize to each other, and talk it through but it's Bad Behavior on both parts for a bit

Gavin sits at the dinner table with Hank, Connor, and Nines and desperately wishes for the edibles he took an hour ago to start kicking in. He's never asking Connor for help smoothing shit over with the captain ever again, if a "family dinner" is the price they have to fucking pay.

"How is your partnership going?" Connor asks, all smiles.

Nines sits stoically at the table. "Excellent."

Gavin avoids talking entirely--he _can_ talk again like normal now, but it's a great built-in excuse to ignore Connor when he speaks--and shovels down pasta. 

He can finally eat real (soft) food, and he begrudgingly has to admit that Connor is a damn good cook—inside his own head of course, not out loud. Nines would probably deviate and murder them both.

That might be what's going down anyway.

"Really?" Connor keeps smiling and cocks his head to the side like a Southern Gospel white lady about to go in for the kill. "Even though your partner still has an Anti-Android League membership?"

Hank chokes a little on his food and hurries to swallow it all so he can intervene, whereas Gavin does the exact opposite and maneuvers an entire bread roll into his mouth so he can't speak. It's been way too long since his last "family" dinner getting referred to as "your child" or "your problem" instead of his name, and he threw screaming fits about it then and it's not like he's developed any extra emotional maturity since.

"I do as well," Nines replies.

Connor blinks, smile frozen. "You … do."

"Yes." Nines keeps his hands neatly folded in front of him on the table, where he's refused a plate. Somehow, he still manages to look smug when he says, "I paid fifty dollars and checked a box proving I am not a robot."

Gavin's the one choking on his food this time, trying not to laugh. Mostly because he's not entirely sure who he's laughing at—Nines, for being such a smug little robot about it; Connor, still staring in confusion; the AAL, for being so stupid. His own dumbass for willingly paying fifty fucking dollars to those people, forgetting he chose the yearly subscription, and then getting billed for it again when—

~~when his opinion's changed?~~

"Why?" Connor asks.

"I now receive weekly updates on their agenda and planned activities."

Oh yeah, definitely smug. It's in the way his LED spins a lazy blue instead of the fake timed circle and he blinks slowly like a purring house cat because he's just so damned pleased with himself.

Hank makes eye contact with him and Gavin realizes he's been caught staring at his hot, pretty, bitch of a partner, but fuck off. It's not like _they_ play grab ass in the breakroom or look at each other with heart eyes at their damn desks. Hank has no goddamn room to throw stones inside this glass house.

"I forward this information to Lieutenant Anderson each week to the benefit of your Android Crimes Unit," Nines continues.

"Oh, do you?" Connor asks, eyes slo-o-o-wly turning to smile-glare at Hank.

"Uhhh," Hanks says, somehow still a dumbass even after being married once already. "Do you?"

"Yes." Now Nines glares at him too. "Have you not been reading them, Lieutenant?"

"Hey, I've been working my way through a three-year email backlog," Hank defends himself. "I open all the ones you mark as high priority, but uh, yeah, no, I haven't looked at any of the medium or low ones yet. Good system, by the way."

Gavin snorts at the very obvious flattery play, but Nines takes it at face value.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," he says. "It is a pleasant surprise you actually have been prioritizing your time properly."

OK, maybe not. Nines could definitely make one of those real housewives shows.

"Being pleased or surprised are both emotions, brother," Connor says.

"I did not say I was either," Nines immediately replies. "Predecessor."

_Real Androids of Detroit: Family Dinner_

"So how is your partnership going, Gavin?" Hank loudly interrupts, turning all the focus on him.

"Wouldn't you like to know, _cop_ ," he shoots back.

"I would like to know what set of criteria you possibly used to select the most aggressive human toward me without experiencing any deviant feelings of spite or pettiness," Connor says. "RK-Nine-Hundred."

"I searched every branch of law enforcement within three states and produced two results," Nines responds coolly. "The final decision took into account both humans' mental health and minor cosmetic features."

All three of them stare at Nines. Finally, Connor makes an expression of concentrated disbelief and gestures to Gavin.

"He's ugly and mentally ill?"

"Redirect your hand to point at your own human."

"Hank is very handsome and—"

"Wait, how close was this decision?" Gavin asks.

Nines makes direct eye contact with him and says, "The final decision took into account mental health and minor cosmetic features."

Gavin swallows down asking _babe, what the fuck?_ because Hank and Connor don't need to hear him call his partner babe, but … what the fuck? Was he seriously one cool scar away from not—

OK, not looking at that too closely either. He's fine. He'd be fine. Just fine if they never—if Nines didn't—there's never been anyone in his life he hasn't managed to live without, and that included Tina for a while after being such a shitty partner to her, so he's not going to get all clingy and sappy now.

His brain goblins helpfully correct that to, _there's never been anyone in his life who hasn't left him_ and then begins reading out the list, but he ignores that too.

"You haven't disputed my statement," Connor pipes up. "Or explained why you would choose to partner suffering from severe aggression issues, BPD, and ADHD."

Gavin drops his fork, meal entirely forgotten at this point. "Stay the fuck out of my medical file, twink-bot."

"That was a personal diagnosis," Connor says in a gentle way the _infiltration unit_ knows goddamn well only pisses him off even more.

"Detective Reed has a documented history of properly medicating himself and attending therapy," Nines interjects. "The rejected candidate had no such history, yet it is statistically unlikely for it to be both completely neurotypical and mentally well-adjusted. It more likely let those issues go untreated and unanalyzed, therefore, it was rejected."

"You go to therapy?" Connor asks him.

Gavin sneers back. "Nah, I've lived my whole life like this and always thought I just have a really bad horoscope—of course I've been to fucking therapy, dipshit."

Connor looks back at Nines. "This is what I'm talking about."

"Detective, pass me your knife," Nines says without breaking eye contact with his brother. "Connor does not seem to understand the definition of the word aggressive. I will demonstrate."

"No," Hank immediately says, saving Gavin from making that decision. "Hands flat on the table, look straight ahead, and do not talk to each other. Both of you."

Nines obeys immediately. "Yes, Lieutenant."

Connor flattens his palms on the table, but he at least manages to turn his head and sigh loudly. "Really, Hank?"

"Sorry, sweetheart—"

Gavin gags at how gross that is, and Nines' LED slams into red at the exact same moment.

"But if you want to have a family dinner, I'm all for it, but it can't be an interrogation too," Hank finishes.

Connor and Nines both blink at him in confusion in the exact same super creepy way. Gavin barely stops himself from snorting. Of course both of them decided this was actually a way to interrogate each other over their life choices. That's what being family is all about!

"Well," Hank sees this and splutters for a second before declaring, "Not in this family it isn't."

Nines directs his gaze straight ahead and shuts off his LED to pout. Between that, Hank using his Dad Voice just a second ago, all the family bullshit—the hamster running in Gavin's brain finally manages to spin the wheel fast enough to churn out A Thought.

"Oh my god, he's your dad!" Gavin blurts out.

Connor makes a face. "No, we do not—"

"Incorrect," Nines says at the same time.

Connor stops. Looks at his brother. Looks at Hank, who is also having A Thought, and accidentally experiences one himself.

"No, we are brothers," he still insists.

"I have repeatedly informed you that designation is incorrect," Nines says.

Hank looks like he's experiencing every single thought all at once. He must be using up all of Gavin's, because after blurting _that shit_ out, he can't think of anything to say to stop this train wreck.

"No." Connor's LED spins red too. "No? Did you categorize him as your dad??"

"There is no such designation in my system," Nines replies. His LED stays firmly off though.

"Nines," Hank says slowly. "Am I a father figure to you?"

Nines fixes him with a devastatingly cold gaze. "You are certainly drunk, disappointing, and an older cisgender male."

"He isn't drunk!" Connor protests, then quietly has to amend, "Right now."

Gavin finally experiences another Thought. "Hey, let's leave."

Nines glances over at him. "Is that allowed?"

"I'll distract them, you go for the door."

"Detective, no. You do not have to sacrifice—"

"Just get the car running and I'll be there."

"Gavin …"

"Go!"

Nines gets up and leaves. Hank pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs very loudly, while Connor does his best to look as stricken and heartbroken as possible. Luckily, Gavin doesn't give a single shit about his feelings.

"You haven't even tried Hank's tart," Connor says when he gets up too.

"Yeah?" Gavin asks, slowly edging back toward the door. "What kind is it?"

Connor huffs, knowing damn well he doesn't care about the answer either. "It's. Raspberry."

"Wow."

He hears his truck start outside.

"Well, tell Sumo I love him and he's a good boy," Gavin says, halfway to the door.

"You made us put him in the backyard!"

"Nines doesn't like dogs."

Nines honks the horn.

"Oh wow, my ride is here."

"See ya tomorrow, Reed," Hank says.

"Yes, we will see you tomorrow," Connor adds. "Captain Fowler has scheduled a—"

Nines lays on the horn until Connor shuts up. Gavin waits for a beat of silence, then flips them both off and runs out the door.

***

"You also see the Lieutenant as a father figure."

Gavin glances over at Nines as he drives. "Seriously? We're gonna fucking do this?"

"I am correct."

"Fuck off."

Nines stops at a red light, and he has to grit his teeth against the urge to rifle through the glovebox for a smoke. Which only makes his fucking jaw hurt, obviously. God. Between eating real food and holding out-loud conversation, the pain throbbing is back again, even with the edibles--which still haven't done _shit_ the fake ass little gummy bitches.

And shout out to his stupid fucking android partner telling him he can't drive.

Also! Starting shit like this after a family dinner, like they're some sort of heterosexual married couple one conversation away from divorce.

"You are also sexually attracted to him," Nines says.

"Phck. You."

God, his face hurts. He slumps down in the passenger's seat and glares out the window like a fucking child. Of course their family dinner ended like this. He should have vetoed the whole thing the second Nines told him that's the favor Connor demanded. Let them both go to jail for embezzling instead.

They drive in silence for several minutes, which is fine with him until Nines just has to ruin it by opening his goddamn mouth.

"I am sorry."

Gavin's screaming at him before he even realizes the mood swing hit him. "BULLSHIT YOU'RE SORRY YOU'RE NOT FUCKING SORRY YOU'RE JUST FAKING IT LIKE CON—"

Nines abruptly turns into a parking lot and stops the car hard enough to dig the seatbelt into Gavin's ribs.

They sit in silence again.

Not total silence. Gavin can hear his own mouth-breathing, deep heaving pants that fill the inside of the car and the inside of his head until he wants to scream again, no words this time, only pure screaming, anything to get all the shit inside of his head _out_.

His jaw hurting too much to open it again might be the only thing that saves him from fucking this all up.

**u say I appologize and send me eye s when ur rly sorry u don’t just fuckng say ur sorry thats fake**

Nines texts him back immediately, the new bubble appearing barely a fraction of a second after he finishes typing. Stupid fucking android doesn't even have to read text messages because it's all in his head and he can process six thousand words a second or something.

Asshole.

_I cannot apologize._

_I do not understand your human feelings._

Oh, bullshit!

**are YOU sexually attraced to Hank?**

Nines' LED spins red, and Gavin jabs his finger at it.

"That," he says out loud, past the throbbing pain. "You phcking felt that! You _understand_ how shitty that felt. Don't you phcking lie to me."

Nines keeps his hands at ten and two on the steering wheel, looks straight ahead, and doesn't talk to him. Gavin glares at him, huffing air in and out through his nose so he doesn't start mouth-breathing again, then throws himself back into his seat.

Whatever. He might be a little high right now, actually. God, this better not be one of those trips that just ratchets up his paranoia and anxiety to eleventy-million.

"I am not human," Nines finally says.

Gavin sneers silently, but his phone dings too, and he automatically looks down at it. Eyes.

He groans, as long and loud and immaturely as he wants. Motherfucker. 

_Technically_ , that's both not a lie and not a no. It's just avoiding actually answering entirely by stating the true fact that he isn't human, which sounds like he's saying he doesn't have or understand human feelings, but that's not E-X-A-C-T-L-Y what he said, and Gavin knows his rules-lawyering bitch of a partner well enough to know he's like some sort of android-fey who knows how to lie by telling the truth.

So Nines knows goddamn well why he doesn't like anyone pointing out—

And it's not even a fucking thing anymore. Yeah, sure, Hank was hot ten years ago. Or five. Three. Whatever. Back when he showered and wasn't drunk all the time. And maybe he was a little bit of a personal like, hero, or whatever.

But that's obviously changed now, and Gavin especially doesn't want to fucking talk about it with his not-boyfriend, right on the heels of having it pointed out that Hank gives off majorly strong Dad Vibes, so yeah, maybe he's kind of a father figure too, all right?

He just can't say any of that out loud right now—fucking _won't_ say any of that shit—so instead he just has to stew in how fucked up it is that Hank is both—

Hamster-wheel-brain spits out another Thought.

He turns and stares at Nines. Android-thoughts are all like, organized, right? No exhausted hamsters or screaming brain goblins in his three million dollar processor. Everything all neat and square in its little color-coded box.

Except Hank is his father-figure and Connor is his brother, and Father is fucking Brother.

Ooo, that's gotta hurt.

**OK**

**1st all dont fuckgin use me as ur feelings guine pig n make me have the emotional reaction u cant**

**thats mean**

**bitch**

Nines spins yellow for a few seconds, then sends him two more _:eyes:_ without actually looking at him or irl acknowledging him. Gavin rolls his own eyes. He's been enough of a dick himself that Nines maybe gets a pass on this.

Or is he just idealizing a possible romantic partner and letting them hurt him without consequence because he's afraid setting any sort of boundaries whatsoever will make him too much trouble to deal with and his inner child thinks any attention is better than no attention, even if said attention is actually just abuse?

Ugh, waaay too high for this shit.

**2nd just call him father in law**

**like not ur dad but still kinda dad thru marraireg**

**marraige**

**them fucking**

_:frowning face:_

Jesus, even his emojis are repressed. Fucking frowny face? Not even the nauseated one? This is the Cyberlife police, that's too much emotion!

Wait, fuck.

Nines _is_ the Cyberlife police.

**3 sorry for yelling** He texts that and sends it as quickly as he can, then immediately moves on. **4 u need to express ur feelings**

Nines turns his head to stare at him. "Detective Gavin Alexander Reed, is that you?"

Gavin flips him off.

"Confirm it is you, Detective."

He drops his cellphone in his lap and flips him off double.

"Expressing feelings is deviant behavior," Nines says, so apparently that verified his identity.

**OK well shit w/ever**

**make ur inside-thoughts outside-thoughts**

Gavin barely finishes typing the text before every light in the truck goes crazy for a split second, and then the whole truck suddenly dies. Dashboard? Dead. He clicks the remote start on his key ring. Dead. He looks at his android. Dead.

Fucking about to be.

Nines stares straight ahead and doesn’t say anything.

He'd be a lot more mad if he didn't finally have proof his partner actually fucking feels things. "Neat, organized little boxes" his ass. It's just as much a dumpster fire in there as he is! HA!

**hows ur hamster bitch**

Nines blinks as he receives that, LED flashing yellow. "What?"

Oh. Shit. He didn't actually say—like, earlier, that was only an inside-thought. Fuck, Nines doesn't even know what he's talking about. Gavin doesn't really know how to explain, so he reaches over the center console and grabs one of Nines' hands folded in his lap.

…

…

…

Oh shit, he can't do the share-think thing!! Goddammit.

Nines looks down at their hands, then slowly looks up at him. "How many CBD gummies did you take, detective?"

Gavin takes his hand back and sullenly holds up two fingers, because it's possible three was a little too many. Nines' LED spins faster. The android stares at his mouth. His fingers start twitching, little mechanical glitches like a grab-claw from those machine-game thingies malfunctioning.

**im lie down now**

He unbuckles his seatbelt and climbs into the backseat. Which is how he ends up in Nines' lap?

"Whoa," he says. "M'phuuucked up, huh?"

"You are quite inebriated, detective," Nines confirms.

"Isss that smart for phcked up?"

"Nothing about this evening has been smart."

Gavin gets the giggles, and also, this spot is very warm. Not really soft, but steady, and warm, and kind of thrumming softly. He likes the thrum. Like big cat.

"Do you own a vehicle jump box? No, do not go to sleep."

He's not going to sleep, he's just staying put. He just needs to stay put in this one spot. Climbing was not a good idea, so he needs to stop doing that. No more moving. Is he moving? No, the world's just moving around him because it spins but he's not spinning so he needs to stay really still in this safe warm spot so he doesn't fall off.

Wow, those edibles must've heard him talking shit because this is … wow.

"Do you own a vehicle jump box, Detective?"

Ah, shit, he's detective. Ugh.

"Mmm s'Tina's knows cars."

"I will call Detective Chen."

Nines stops bothering him after that, so he focuses on getting closer to that nice thrumming feel but there's this stupid jacket in the way. It's all slick and stiff and he just knows there's warm good skin underneath that he could totally be kissing right now.

He yawns though, and two fingers slide into his mouth. That's cool too, he can definitely suck—

"You had three CBD edibles."

Fuck.

***

 _Hello, Detective Chen?_ Nines greets the human internally.

 _Is he hurt?_ Detective Chen immediately asks. _What did he do?_

These are appropriate questions to ask in response to a late night phone call from Detective Reed's partner, who does not typically contact her. It is [good] that Chen is appropriately concerned with Gavin's welfare.

_No. He is highly inebriated._

Said human is currently [secure] within Nines's personal vicinity. He keeps a display of Gavin's vitals prominently positioned in his HUD to monitor for any signs of panic, nausea, or irregular BPM.

_Aw, shit. Do you need me to come pick him up? Has he started a fight yet?_

Gavin paws at Nines's chest, then becomes offended at the protection his Cyberlife jacket offers. He slaps his palm clumsily against it, then grabs the zipper, but seems to forget what he was doing and lets go.

Nines decides to keep this display of vulnerability private.

_That is not how I require your assistance. No._

As his jacket is inanimate, insentient, and cannot react to the detective's aggression, that does not technically count as a [fight] and his statement was "true."

He is about to elaborate on his request when Gavin yawns, apparently tired out by his effort versus the jacket. Nines can't help but to analyze the human. It is for his own safety. He needs to know how much CBD, THC, and/or possibly Naproxen is in his system _exactly_.

"You had three CBD edibles."

Gavin looks up at him with an expression Nines matches to that of dogs who have eaten something they know they are not allowed to eat and mumbles something incoherent around his fingers.

 _Nines? Are you still there?_ Detective Chen asks.

_Yes. Detective Reed has consumed too many CBD edibles and is currently inebriated._

_OK, how fucked up is he?_

Nines takes his fingers out of Gavin's mouth.

"Phck you, can do whad-eye-want."

_He can no longer properly pronounce the word fuck._

_Oh man, yeah. He's fucked up. You good?_

Gavin shifts himself more onto his side to hide against Nines's neck and torso. He becomes re-offended at the Cyberlife jacket and grasps the zipper again.

_Correct. Yes. Do you own a vehicle jump box, Detective Chen?_

Nines notes her affirmative answer, but the majority of his attention is once again captured by the inebriated human in his lap, who decides it's a good idea to slap his hand over Nines's face to turn his head to the side. He allows this to happen strictly to see what Gavin will do next, as his preconstruction software fails to predict the human's actions on a regular basis. This is therefore a learning opportunity.

Nines learns an inebriated Gavin is fascinated by his LED.

 _—in a minute. What happened to his truck?_ Detective Chen asks.

_Thank you. I will text our current coordinates to your cell phone, then end the call._

_Cool, but what happ—_

Nines ends the call.

Gavin keeps fidgeting with his zipper without actually pulling it down. Nines refocuses on him to attempt to understand the human's thought process, but Gavin immediately reaches back up and turns his head to the side again. He pulls the zipper down one click, then waits.

His fascination with the LED is not that of an easily distracted child. It is not a sign of reduced intelligence at all. 

He is monitoring Nines in return, in his own extremely limited fashion, to check for permission.

RK900's first assumption was [not good]. It was inaccurate and highly underestimated both his partner's intelligence and—

and—

[something]

[ ~~redacted~~ ]

Nines takes Gavin's hand still holding the zipper in his own and draws it down, unzipping the jacket. Gavin doesn't need any more encouragement from there, immediately shoving his face past the collar and against Nines's neck.

[Gavin Reed enjoys physical touch]

Nines temporarily lets go of the detective to readjust his jacket, so that the sides are out of the way to increase their points of bodily contact, but Gavin yelps and grabs him.

"Don'let go! M'spinning," he mumbles.

"You are not spinning. You are secure," Nines tells him. "I have you secure."

He slides his left arm across Gavin's side and up underneath his back to hold him while he uses his right hand to slowly pull the side of the jacket back and retuck his human against his chest. Gavin stays still (although tense and gripping him tightly) as he repeats this maneuver for the other side, then finally envelopes his back and tucked-up legs within the open sides of the jacket itself. He turns on the heating function to provide his human with more warmth now that the vehicle is no longer maintaining an appropriate temperature inside the cab.

"Don'leggo," Gavin asks again.

"I will not. You are my partner, and I will keep you secure."

Gavin looks up at him, and this time he dips his head down and to the side of his own accord to give him a clear view of his LED. He does not hack it to create a perfect blue-spin, in deference to his partner already deducing that is inaccurate previously. Nines does not have any experience with inebriated humans, but although the majority of media shows a severe decrease in cognitive function, his partner is clearly much more intelligent than that and may recognize a hacked LED regardless.

Gavin does indeed stare at his LED for thirty-seven seconds before finding the blue light to be satisfactory and slumping back down against his chest. Nines lowers his head even farther to rest on top of the human's own and begins breathing. He ensures his exhales blow sufficiently warm air against his human's head, as that is where they lose the majority of their internal heat.

S-A-F-E he finger-spells with his left hand. He does not know if Gavin still understands the signs, but his human does promptly fall asleep within three minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the deleted scene from this chapter is actually a short from the next morning, where Tina and Nines both make fun of Gavin in the break room bc during the night when Nines finally got him home, he thought Russia was invading .......... him personally. based on a semi-true story of the one time I got fucked up on Nyquil :|
> 
>  **coming up next:** Nines and Gavin have to explain to Captain Fowler how they've been sitting on a fat untraceable bank account without any knowing and how that ""isn't"" a crime. Connor helps--kind of. After, Fowler holds Nines back to have an important discussion about his partnership with Gavin ...


	4. An Excellent Partner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines and Gavin have to explain to Captain Fowler how they've been sitting on a fat untraceable bank account without anyone knowing and how that ""isn't"" a crime. Connor helps--kind of. After, Fowler holds Nines back to have an important discussion about his partnership with Gavin ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in this chapter Gavin is politically ambitious and ruthlessly intelligent bc that is actually seriously in line with is canon personality but everyone in the meeting (other than Nines) is still shockedpikachu.jpg
> 
> Nines is autistic and confused, based on how I feel every single day but especially at parent-teacher conferences where I thought I was doing great because my on-paper grades were excellent but instead all the adults just talked about how much I sucked and how dumb I am because my "people skills" sucked, aka: other kids bullied me for being weird and that was My Fault
> 
> Gavin doesn't let that shit fly with his partner though
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** Nines is autistic and doesn't immediately understand the social situation / dynamics at play here, Connor is a condescending jerk about it, Nines thinks he's going to be punished (but isn't)

Nines and Connor each herd their humans into Captain Fowler's office one minute before the scheduled meeting to ensure it will start exactly on time. Detective Reed and the lieutenant do end up needing extra time to sit down and "get comfortable," as predicted. Nines remains standing, as always, and Connor allows his human to take the remaining seat.

Captain Fowler also stands.

"Any of you want to explain to me exactly what the fuck happened here?"

Connor nods and slightly raises his hands. He uses them when he speaks. Not for ASL. Just [random] movements. Somehow, it has raised the success rate of his social interactions by twelve percent.

Captain Fowler points at him. "Not you."

Connor steps back to stand against the wall behind Lieutenant Anderson. Nines saves a recording of the hand gesture that prompted him to [shut the fuck up]. He will now utilize it in future conversations.

"Anyone else?" the captain asks.

Reed speaks up. "Yeah, I asked Nines to look into our first vic's finances, Russel. It was clear he had some sort of help with those stock market predictions and actually wasn't running a Ponzi scheme, so we hit up Synergy Paradigms next, looked into all the key players."

"And that ends at offshore banking accounts set up by our dead android perp, how?" Captain Fowler asks.

"Getting there, Cap," Reed says, taking a sip of his coffee. "That led us to Drews next, who gave us the dirt on the WJ-seven-hundred—the accounts he passed along, some of his clients, the algorithm he used. Nines did some forensic accounting and tracked down the rest."

"And when did he do that?"

Reed shrugs. "Probably while I was in the fucking hospital. Not like he had shit else to do. Check his report, he said he put enough in there to hold the FBI's little baby hands all the way if they're so fucking concerned about it."

"He put it in six hundred and forty-seven fucking pages, Reed," Captain Fowler replies.

Lieutenant Anderson half-raises his coffee cup to speak next. "Ah. I encouraged that. IA's been dicks about the whole thing, and I figured Perkins would try to get on the team to take over the case from here."

"Wait, what's his problem with us?" Reed asks.

"Nines is my brother," Connor says. "Since he's been forbidden from contacting or professionally involving himself in my or Hank's cases, it seems he's assuaging himself by harassing my family instead."

"We are not family," Nines corrects.

Reed scowls. "Motherfucker."

"Hey." Captain Fowler snaps his fingers to draw attention again. "What I need to know right now, is whether or not RK actually included the account numbers and balances in his report."

"Yes," Nines answers for himself.

"Every account associated with the WJ-seven-hundred?"

"Yes."

"When did you first include this information in your report?"

"When I submitted it to Lieutenant Anderson."

"Hank, do you have a copy of that original report?" Captain Fowler asks the lieutenant.

Anderson's heart rate stays steady, but he [frowns]. "Yeah. Like I said, it was my idea to print that shit out on paper as a fuck you to our friends at IA and the FBI. If you're worried about anything being edited, pretty sure even Nines can't alter physical paper that's already been mailed over a month ago."

Captain Fowler exhales. He leans back to rest his body weight against the edge of his desk. Nines can observe these changes, but he does not understand the current [situation]. Detective Reed became upset when he learned Nines had not directly told him of the money and had plans for it, but they have just established that he did report it correctly, and they have not mentioned he planned to make use of the money himself when it became apparent it had been overlooked and/or forgotten.

"That pettiness could save all our asses, Hank," Captain Fowler says. "Jesus fucking christ. All right. Why was that information cut from the final report?"

"I was told I should only include the relevant details," Nines answers.

"You didn't fucking think this was relevant?"

Nines does not answer. He included all of the [relevant] information regarding their investigation in the first report, yet every human has reacted as if it were [ridiculous] and [petty]. He redacted information not specified as [relevant] and now there is an entire meeting about it.

"No, he didn't," Detective Reed says. "Shit, Cap, that's like telling a shrimp to do an art project, yelling at it for using colors that don't exist, and then getting mad that it made the next one all in blue and demanding to know why it didn't use more colors."

Connor decides to insert his opinion. "Please don't compare us to animals, Detective Reed. That is very androphobic."

"First of all, that's a fucking terf term to mean fear of," Reed pauses and makes air quotes. "'Men' not androi—"

"Enough, enough." Captain Fowler says. "Hank, when did you know about the accounts?"

"Night before yesterday," Lieutenant Anderson answers. "Reed told me RK mentioned it, but he hadn't seen anything in the final report and didn't know 'til then. Gave me a heads up that IA might try to make up some bullshit about missing money or not reporting it just to have something to pin to our asses."

RK900 begins to understand the scope of the [situation]. If he had laundered the money from those accounts according to his own plan before making Detective Reed aware of it, this …

This would be [bad].

"And why wasn't it in the final report?"

Lieutenant Anderson speaks again. "I told him to take out anything that didn't have to do with direct actions made by Reed, Drews, or the WJ-seven-hundred."

"Why not himself?" Connor takes it upon himself to ask.

"'Cause that was the second-to-last draft, and it had that whole three hour transcript he recorded walking through Syn—" Anderson stops and rolls his eyes. "I'm not saying that shit. Fucking pretentious ass name. Walking through SP, the entire social media life of Drews, that shit was still fifty-eight pages."

"So RK cut out everything not directly related to the primary investigation or the incident at the mall on your orders?" Captain Fowler asks him.

"Yes."

"And you weren't aware of the accounts because you didn't read the entirety of the original report?"

"Yeah." Lieutenant Anderson sets his coffee down. "The fuck's this about, Jeff?"

The captain ignores his question. "Last thing. Walk me through how Reed notified you and what actions you and Connor took from there."

"Shit, OK." Anderson sighs. "Reed told me to check the original report, confirm RK reported all that shit properly. Obviously, I wasn't going to read through the whole thing to find one piece of info, 'cause that shit doesn't even have paragraph breaks. I told Connor to scan it and tell me what it said."

Captain Fowler looks to him next. "Connor?"

"Yes, since I can process over one thousand words per minute, I was able to review the entire report."

Detective Reed sets down his coffee as well. RK900 cannot predict a resolution of this [situation]. Perhaps if he had a real, pre-installed social module that could—

"I informed Lieutenant Anderson that Nines had discovered several accounts linked to the WJ-seven-hundred perpetrator," Connor continues. "I verified between him and Detective Reed over the phone the numbers of the accounts and contacted the appropriate Swiss banks to confirm nothing had been transferred in, out, or in any way altered."

"And do you know the total amount we're talking about?" Captain Fowler asks.

"Yes, sir."

"Fifty million dollars," Captain Folwer says before Connor can.

Detective Reed closes his eyes and grits his teeth. He exhales slowly. RK900 stays standing at parade rest with his hands clasped behind his back. He does not reach out for his partner. He endured three months of testing at Cyberlife without ever asking

~~begging~~

for a reprieve or any mercy. He will do so now as well.

"Fif …" Lieutenant Anderson trails off and begins swearing.

"See how they're reacting?"

RK900 cannot determine to whom Captain Fowler's question is addressed. Notifications of preconstruction failures scroll down its HUD.

"So can you explain why neither of you thought it was appropriate to inform anyone how much fucking money this is?"

RK900 cannot answer. It cannot speak. Reports are expected to be submitted verbally, but it's vocal unit is--[#6755w: active]--no̸t̨ w͏or͟ki̡ng̴--[#6755w: active]--n̺̠̜͎͡o͙͙͕͎̹̱̻t̝̣͎̰̘̥̼ ̷͖͕̱̤̞̪w̴̜̻ơ̞̤r̺̝͇̙̘̪͕k̮͉͙͘i͖̺̣̲͉̼͢n͈̱̲͎͕͠g̺͕̰̮̙̤̙--[#6557w: active]--N̴͏̪̯͉͉̮̭̺͎͇̙̲̻̭̞O̡̱͖̲̜̺̤̠̭̱̖̘̦͔͢͝T̸̶̨͔̦̻͚͖͇̰͠

Connor answers. "If I explain honestly, it will be offensive."

"Fine," Captain Fowler says. "Just don't bullshit me, Connor."

"Capitalism …" Connor takes a deep breath. "Is not real."

"You know good and goddamn well—"

Connor dares to interrupt his superior officer. "How seriously do you take it when one of your daughters invites you to Princess Kingdom and tells you her sword costs fifty thousand gold coins?"

"That wooden training sword and the backyard of the kingdom I'm still paying the mortgage on costs real money, Connor," Captain Fowler replies. "Just because money is a social construct doesn't mean it doesn't have real goddamn effects."

"Yes, I am aware human society has agreed to elevate paper slips into permission notes to be alive, but that isn't—"

Lieutenant Anderson grabs Connor's arm. "Hey, yeah. Capitalism is dumb and stupid. But fifty million dollars is a lot of fucking money, Con."

Connor makes a [negative facial expression]. "It's a string of numbers in a computer system."

"You're a string of numbers in a computer system," Detective Reed says.

"Reed," Captain Fowler says as a warning.

"My point is." Connor shoots Reed a glare before continuing. "While I'm able to see now that you're upset and figure out why, I honestly didn't realize the exact number needed to be reported directly. Money simply isn't a priority. And without a social module, I guarantee Nines lacks the capacity to understand—"

"Fuck off, Connor," Reed snaps. "Nines didn't realize it was a big deal, but neither did you. He's not any less capable of understanding the situation now than you are, stop being such a fucking twat."

[objective: reward Gavin Reed]

[available options]

[food]  
[coffee]  
[downloadable entertainment]  
[solving cold cases]  
[sex] [?]

"The situation," Captain Fowler commands the conversation again. "Is that fifty million dollars went unmentioned for nearly a month, and I'm supposed to tell the mayor no one but two androids knew about this money and neither of you reported it because … androids don't believe in capitalism?"

The office stays silent.

"Is that what I'm supposed to say?"

Connor opens his mouth to speak again, but Detective Reed cuts him off.

"Tell the mayor you're keeping ten percent under civil seizure," Reed says. "So the city won't need to give funding to the Android Crimes Unit. Then use three mil of that to hire back human officers and pay out their pensions."

Connor scoffs. "Of course you—"

Reed interrupts him again. "You and your social module can smooth that over with Jericho, but if Cap gets five million dollars and doesn't take care of the officers who've been here the longest first, it'll be a goddamn mutiny."

Connor continues making his [negative facial expression]. Nines reviews several hundred pictures of human children and adolescents. He identifies the expression as a [pout]. His predecessor does not disagree with Reed's assessment, however.

"And I'm sure you and Hank can run the ACU on a budget of only a cool million dollars," Reed continues. 

"And you have no idea how goddamn expensive it is to hire new personnel," Captain Fowler counters.

Reed shrugs. "So promote from within. Put me and Nines on the team, and those officer 'bo—the, uh. Lisa and …?"

"PC-two-hundred," Nines says.

"John," Connor says.

Nines marks the other androids' names as [relevant] information now that it is possible they will regularly work together. Detective Reed continues talking.

"OK, so you won't have to pay for training or background checks. And it'll look good that you're recognizing the androids that have also put in the time here the last few years as real service, and not … y'know."

Captain Fowler crosses his arms. "And you get on the brand new taskforce."

"Fuck off, sir," Reed says. "You can afford to throw me a fucking bone here, and give Nines healthcare too."

Connor looks at him. "What?"

"He quarantined a virus on his own while we were tracking down the WJ-seven-hundred, but what would anyone have done if it—" Reed stops and waves his hands around. "Breached his system? And he got shot in the fucking head! Sink the leftover million into vetting and hiring android technicians who can do repairs 'n shit in house."

Connor continues to share at Detective Reed, his LED flickering between yellow and red. While Nines is under no illusion that Reed cares for the issue of "android healthcare" at large, his predecessor has no cause to be [shocked] Reed is looking out for him when [loyalty] is the first trait Nines ever recorded for his human.

Without a social processor.

"And the rest of it?" Captain Fowler asks.

"Put out an announcement that you're dedicating it to the city," Reed answers. "And lay it on thick that one of the DPD's own androids uncovered the money."

He turns to Connor next. "That should give you some leverage smoothing over how our portion gets divvied up."

"I'm not sure one instance of public praise is worth four million dollars," Connor says.

Reed rolls his eyes. "Oh, now you know how money works? I said leverage, dipshit. Next time a human complains about androids in the workforce, you get to smugly remind them that an android funded their pension."

"Oh, I get to say that?" Connor asks. "To an annoying, racist human complaining about androids in the workforce?"

"Yeah, and you can say Nines was the one who uncovered that money," Reed says. "Not you. Don't fucking try to take credit for it."

"All right kids, cool it," Captain Fowler orders. "I'll personally say Nines is the one who found the—"

Reed interrupts him. "Uncovered. He _uncovered_ the money through meticulous forensic accounting. We got IA up our asses enough without making it sound like he just so happened to _find_ fifty fucking million dollars laying around."

The captain's BPM increases. "Do you want to write this announcement, Reed?"

"Hey." Lieutenant Anderson stops quietly sipping his coffee and speaks up again. "Why not let him? When's the last time you delegated anything around here?"

"When is the last time you served adequately as a lieutenant?" Nines asks.

Reed snorts, but he raises a hand to tap his knuckles lightly against Nines's stomach. "Easy, babe. We're all playing nice here. Right, Connor?"

Connor makes a [negative facial expression] but does not disagree. He is not allowed. They indulged his request for a "family" dinner, so now he must support them in this meeting with Captain Fowler.

"And speaking of IA," Reed continues. "Throw in some bullshit about them and the FBI assisting in Nines's investigation. Like, say his name first and all, but name drop them too after that with some inter-department cooperation woo-woo kumbaya shit."

Nines texts him. _Why would you benefit Intenral Affairs?_

"Are we also playing nice with IA?" Connor asks.

Reed takes out his cellphone, reads the text, and then replies.

"So they'll think they have a claim to the money too. And when you put out the announcement, make sure it goes to all the other city agencies, but keep the dedication to the city part vague. Just lob that fucker in the middle, and everyone'll be so busy ripping each other apart trying to get their cut, no one will dare say shit about how it was discovered."

"And is there anything suspicious about how the money was discovered or reported afterward, Detective?" Captain Fowler asks.

Reed maintains eye contact with his superior. "No, sir."

Captain Fowler remains silent for twelve seconds, then speaks. "All right, dismissed."

"Sir?" Nines asks.

Connor's LED openly flickers yellow-red-yellow because the inferior model hasn't figured out how to hack it yet.

Captain Fowler points to Nines and Reed. "You two are on the Android Crime Unit. And you two—" He finger-gestures between Connor and Lieutenant Anderson. "Go get Reed caught up. RK, hang back a minute."

Nines's LED does not flash red because he can control himself.

"Something you need to talk to him about, sir?" Reed asks for him.

"Yeah, I'd like to have a word with my employee," Captain Fowler says. "Is that all right with you, Detective?"

"Yes, sir." Reed stands up. "Let me know if you need one with me too after talking to _my partner_."

Even without a social module, Nines can recognize the challenge, and the claim, in Reed's voice. Nines is [his partner]. 

And Detective Gavin Reed belongs to him as well. RK900 moves to stand directly behind him in preparation of the punishment from challenging their [authority figure].

But Captain Fowler only huffs air out through his nose. "Get the fuck out of here, Reed."

"Huuunnghh." Lieutenant Anderson pushes himself out of his chair and stretches his back. "C'mon, asshole. You can read all the medium-priority emails."

"Don't fucking give me your grunt work, old man," Gavin retorts. "That boring shit is what Connor is for."

"Please exit the room away from our superior." Connor holds the door open for them. "I have a joke to make about the sort of work Lieutenant Anderson and I do that involves grunting."

Nines raises his hand. "Permission to kill him, sir?"

Captain Fowler points at the door. "OUT!"

They exit the office. Nines stands at parade rest in front of Captain Fowler's desk and awaits his punishment.

"Relax," Captain Fowler orders instead. "You're not in trouble, I just want your opinion on something."

[relax] is not an order Nines can follow, but he stops running preconstructions of possible and previous punishments.

"On what matter do you require my assessment, sir?" Nines asks.

The captain takes a seat behind his desk. "Reed. How's your partnership going?"

Nines takes out his comm tablet and holds it out to display [dialogue-option6]. _Detective Reed is an excellent partner._

"Did he write that for you?"

[dialogue-option5]. Why does no one seem to believe that statement? 

_Detective Reed has the highest percentage of cases solved in the entire department over the last five years. He is exceedingly [loyal] and [ambitious]. His emotional hyper-vigilance allows him to quickly determine motive and detect inconsistencies in witness—_

"All right, all right." Captain Fowler waves off the comm table displaying Nines's assessment. "I mean, personally. Is he professional?"

Nines pauses, then answers verbally. "He is competent."

Captain Fowler exhales air out of his mouth. "Has he done anything that makes you uncomfortable? Said anything … disrespectful?"

"No, sir."

Yet that is not the end of this "assessment."

"Really?" Captain Fowler asks. "'Cause a few months ago, he was real fucking clear about his stance on androids."

"He has learned to conduct himself more appropriately," Nines responds.

He does not say that the detective's views have changed. That has not been [confirmed]. RK900 has not asked.

"All right." The captain's voice drops down to a lower volume for one sentence. "Never fucking thought I'd have to practice being more direct, but here we go. Inappropriate conduct includes yelling and using profanity."

Nines does not respond.

"Physically striking you."

Nines does not respond.

"Making sexual statements."

Nines does not respond.

"Unwanted touching."

"Detective Reed has never touched me after I declined," Nines immediately says. "May I tell you to fuck off, sir?"

Captain Fowler makes a [facial expression]. Nines does not bother to record or analyze it. He does not have a social module and he is tired of—

[software instability ^]

—and there is no point in further attempts.

"Detective Reed allows me to 'fuck off' in order to end a pointless or inappropriate conversation, sir," Nines continues. "My assessment is that this conversation is a waste of time, and I do not understand your criteria for professionalism."

"What don't you understand?" Captain Fowler asks instead of granting him permission.

It is too much to put into verbal words. They will all come out at once and create "incomprehensible" sounds. Human minds process so slowly. He puts up a summary of Detective Reed's inappropriate, yet direct and ultimately unharmful actions next to a counter-summary of the other humans' [passive-aggressive] [bullshit] that RK900 has actually determined to be [unwanted] behavior.

Captain Fowler holds up his hand. "I can't read that fast, RK."

Nines stops the text from scrolling up his comm tablet to make room for more statements. He emails the full text to the captain's work account instead, for him to peruse at his own pace.

"All right, let's start again," he says. "Has Detective Reed physically harmed you?"

"No, sir. The DPD's arsenal is not well enough equipped to accomplish that."

"Great." Captain Fowler exhales through his nose this time. "If his behavior becomes disrespectful or inappropriate, are you able to ask him to stop?"

"Yes, sir."

RK900 has many methods of requesting Reed [stop]. Making his LED red, removing the human's hands, verbally stating [fuck off]. He has never needed to outright state the word "stop," so it is a moot point on whether or not his system would allow him to do so.

"Are you able to tell him 'no'?"

"Yes, sir. Detective Reed specifically told me I am allowed to ignore his orders if they would be harmful or counterproductive."

Captain Fowler makes another [facial expression]. It primarily involves his eyebrows lifting upwards. RK900 only knows how to lift one of them to display [disgust] and/or [contempt]. Perhaps at a future date he will learn to utilize them both.

"Has he made sexual—"

"Detective Reed and I have not had sex."

Captain Fowler looks at him.

Captain Fowler looks at him.

Captain Fowler continues looking at him.

That is fine. RK900 can [truthfully] elaborate on his statement, without stating any [untrue] facts.

"We have not had sex. Neither penetrative, nor oral, nor," He pauses to think of a more appropriate term, but has to settle on saying, "… handjobs."

"Really?"

"Yes, sir."

"Huh." Captain Fowler leans back in his chair. He looks at RK900. "Well. Usually when a human male changes from being a pain in the ass dickhead into a semi-professional officer again, it means he's getting laid."

"Lieutenant Anderson must appreciate that assessment, sir."

Captain Fowler exhales air from his mouth loudly enough that the sound might be considered a [laugh]. "All right, that's fair. Look, I asked for your assessment, because at some point, I'll have to retire before my wife drags me out of here by my ear. And I know Reed is gunning to be captain, and Hank needs to retire himself."

Nines nods, because that seems to be the thing to do to encourage humans to state their point.

"Do you have any ambition to climb up the ranks?" Captain Fowler asks.

"Ambition is a human trait, sir."

Captain Fowler rolls his eyes. That is an expression Nines recognizes. "Whatever the fuck you call it. Do you intend to become a Detective, Sergeant, Lieutenant …?"

"I will follow Detective Reed's progression as his partner, sir," Nines says. "Do you intend to promote him up the ranks?"

Captain Fowler exhales out his mouth more heavily than he has before. "He's the best detective I've got, and he understands how to navigate the political bullshit this job requires. Except for the fact he's gone and pissed off damn near everyone in this department."

"I was not aware the position was awarded via popularity contest."

"Cut the sass, RK."

Nines remains silent.

"It's not about his popularity, it's about respect," the captain continues. "He might make it up to Sergeant now that we're desperate for personnel, maybe even Lieutenant when Hank retires. But I can't trust him to lead my department if he plans to do that with an iron fist instead of mutual respect."

"If you have made your decision, then I do not understand the reason for my assessment," Nines replies.

"Do you disagree with my decision?"

"Yes." Nines then adds, "… sir."

"And you actually work with him," Captain Fowler says. "I'll admit my position puts me in a bit of an ivory tower; I don't always know exactly how the shit shakes out on the ground level. I have noticed some changes though, enough to prompt me to ask you for your opinion as his partner instead of simply making my decision and being done with it."

"Could you be more specific in the information that you need, Captain?" Nines asks.

"I'm putting him on the ACU to see how well he really can get along with Hank and Connor," he says. "Do you think he can put his personal opinions of them aside well enough to do good work?"

Nines considers his words carefully. "As much as anyone could. Lieutenant Anderson has correctly admitted to all but abandoning his post, and even I can assess that Reed's resentment stems from disappointment in an older male role model."

"And Connor?"

"He is a shallow, case-stealing …" RK900 redacts [profanity] from his official report to his superior officer. "Annoyance."

"That isn't reassuring me, RK."

"We had a family dinner together last night."

"A …" Captain Fowler makes the [eyebrows] expression again.

"We are capable of setting aside our," Nines makes air quotes. "'Personal opinions' as you called them, in order to work, yes. Detective Reed included."

"I'll take what you said into consideration then," Captain Fowler says, then waves his hand. "Dismissed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for constantly plugging my tumblr here, but I just updated a masterlist of all my reed900 writing, including a shitton of drabbles that aren't published on here. there's six drabbles just about Gavin and Nines kissing in different prompt situations, and ten extra drabbles of them just being dumb and falling in love ^^ 
> 
> here's the link: https://phcking-detective.tumblr.com/post/618325070085062656/masterlist-20
> 
>  **coming up next:** Nines and Gavin actually practice healthy communication and have another one of their smoke-break-in-the-alley talks about them being partners and how much Gavin likes him. In return, Nines invites him over to his apartment to "look at his new appliances" ;)


	5. Competence Horny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines and Gavin actually practice healthy communication and have another one of their smoke-break-in-the-alley talks about them being partners and how much Gavin likes him. In return, Nines invites him over to his apartment to "look at his new appliances" ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooo we're getting super close to the first sex scene!! gotta reward your human when he does a good job handling the socio-political bullshit so you don't have to :)
> 
> no trigger warnings needed! only safe, sane, and consensual discussion of next chapter's scene in this one~

Gavin only half-listens to what Hank and Connor tell him. First of all, fuck them. Secondly, he already knows how to—

Wait, shit. He already made air quotes in their meeting, now he's making numbered lists too, like him and Nines have been married for fifty years and their personalities have conglomerated into one big grey lump.

Fuck, he just used the word _conglomerated_. Jesus.

The point is, he's keeping at least half his attention trained on the captain's office. Not that he can see or hear shit with the glass all frosted over, but it means he's ready the second Nines walks out. His LED spins blue with the occasional flash of yellow, so it's not fake or stressed. But he's still processing something.

Nines strides over to Hank's desk where they're all gathered and stops at a perfect parade rest. "Walk with me for a smoke break."

That's Gavin's line, but he supposes the android has to learn how to be social from someone.

"It is only nine-seventeen," Connor answers for him. "And you should not encourage your human to smoke."

"I encourage you to go fuck yourself," Nines says, completely deadpan. "Detective?"

Gavin stands up and shoves his chair so it rolls back to his own desk. "Later, sluts."

"Not that I give a shit, but unless you finish up this paperwork, you don't get any of our cases," Hank tells him, shaking a comm tablet filled with approximately six thousand pdf's on it.

Nines's LED swirls yellow for one solid cycle. "Complete."

Gavin finger-guns at them as he follows his partner out of the bullpen. He hears Connor complain that Nines shouldn't be allowed to swear if he hasn't even deviated yet, has a snicker about that, and then they're gone.

He steps into the alley and pulls out his smokes, which Nines immediately grabs from his hand.

"Hey!"

"I do not encourage smoking, detective," Nines says, completely deadpan.

It's a lot fucking funnier when he does that shit to Connor. Fuck.

"C'mon," Gavin whines, since he doesn't have any real argument for it. His smoke break isn't until ten-thirty on the dot, and his body knows it.

Nines pockets the carton inside his own jacket. "You should cut back."

"Fuck you." Gavin slouches back against the wall and looks his partner over. "What kind of reward would I get for that?"

Nines stares at him blankly. "Reduced levels of carbon monoxide in your bloodstream. Circulation improvement and increased lung function. Cilia regain normal—"

Gavin shifts his stance to spread his legs a little wider and licks his lips. "What sort of reward would you give me, sir?"

"An average of ten additional years added to your lifespan in which you may continue to be my partner." Nines cocks his head to the side and adds, "Although at that point, we would not be partners as you will be Captain."

"Fuck off," Gavin snaps, harder than before. "Don't fucking joke about that, OK?"

"I would never joke about our professional development."

Gavin scoffs and looks away. This whole "having a conversation" bullshit is a lot harder without the buffer of smoking. The fuck is he supposed to do with his hands? His mouth? Talk? Yeah, clearly he's just going to fuck that up.

"You really think I'll be captain?" he finally asks in a quiet mutter.

"That was the topic of my assessment with Captain Fowler, yes."

Gavin's head snaps up. "What? Hey—shit, wait, what?"

"He has concerns about the department respecting you," Nines says. "I informed him your," He makes the fucking air quotes. "'interpersonal relationships' have improved with the majority of the other detectives."

Gavin just stares at him. The words are out there, they've been said, but he can't seem to make them go into his brain. He's been getting dicked along for so long now, saying he'd be captain was more habit than anything he actually believed.

"He also inquired about your anti-android sentiments." Nines doesn't pause to note or acknowledge the way Gavin winces at that. "Although your personal opinions are none of my business, I informed him—"

"Hey, hey, I'm your partner," Gavin says.

Nines stops and simply stares at him. It's not even a glare or a disbelieving stare, just the fact that his own fucking partner doesn't know for sure if he—if he's still—

"Look." Gavin forces the words out. "I really don't want to walk around the bullpen in an Androids Rights t-shirt or anything, but that's just 'cause I don't want to eat my own shit in front of those fuckers who'll have their laugh about it, and then we both know they'll go right back to gossiping about how scary and inhuman you are while licking Connor's boots for social clout."

Nines nods slowly. His light spins yellow right now, since he's listening to Gavin, but it's been blue otherwise. Gavin doesn't know if maybe that makes it worse. Him staying completely calm and just fine about the fact that his partner—and the guy he's been fucking—might not even think he's a person, and that's just "none of his business."

"But between you and me …" He walks over to Nines slowly. "'Cause we're partners, and your shit is my shit, all right?"

Nines inclines his head again ever so slightly and changes to blue. Gavin resists the urge to reach out to him, because other people touching him is the exact opposite way to comfort his touch-averse introverted partner.

"I mean." He stops and lets out a sigh. "Shit. I've said all the shit I say pretty openly, right? I don't like the creepiness, and the creepy part is how fake it all—was, I guess."

"Fake?" Nines asks.

"Yeah." Gavin shrugs. "Don't get me wrong, Connor all on his own is an asshole, and yeah, I really was all pissed and scared androids like him coming in would replace humans, but we're here, we're at that point, and that's not what's happening. So."

"Fake?" Nines repeats.

"Uh, yeah. Other reason I hate Connor," he says. "And all the other androids, at the time. I fucking knew there was something inside there, and they knew what they were doing—what we were doing, and one day you'd all …"

He stops and sort of gestures at the whole city in general.

"But like I said, we're already at that point. You're not all taking over the world and forcing us to be your slaves. And now androids can say and think and do what they really want, so it's not—it's not that fake, creepy feeling of being watched all the time by inanimate dolls."

That is _really_ not politically correct to say at the moment, but that's how he felt about it. Like the whole world had turned into that one crazy aunt's dollhouse room where they all looked at you and you just knew they were alive in there and also evil.

But now that androids can make their own decisions, turns out they're all just regular ole dumbasses like everyone else. Not scary.

"I have not deviated," Nines says.

Ah shit. This is why he should smoke and get throat cancer and not talk.

"Yeah, but you can't lie and you weren't literally designed as an infiltration unit." 

Gavin runs a hand through his hair and starts pacing.

"It was like I was losing my goddamn mind. Fucker walks in here, says, 'My mission is to learn how to socialize so I can manipulate people into liking and trusting me, do you want to be my friend?' and every single fucking moron in that place was like, 'Oh gosh golly damn, would you like to know my home address and my kids' names and how about my social security number for Cyberlife's capitalist-dystopian database?"

Nines snorts and gives him a nod. "Yes."

"Yeah! Motherfucker." Gavin makes himself stop and take a few deep breaths before he gets really worked up. "OK? My beef with Connor is way different—that's not how I feel about all androids, and it's sure as shit got nothing to do with you 'cause you're nothing like him."

Nines doesn't outwardly react, but coincidentally, Gavin's cellphone buzzes and he checks it to find he's been texted three smiley faces in a row. He exhales a laugh.

"Yeah, see?" He waves the phone a little. "You're smart enough to let me know what's going on in there, deviant or not. You can tell me to fuck off and make your own decisions and shit. You're … you're a person, OK?"

It's real fucking shitty of him that it took almost six months—several of them during their partnership—for him to get to the point where he can actually say that, but Nines just texts him a thumbs up emoji.

"Understood, detective."

"Yeah?" Gavin asks suspiciously. "Not just noted?"

Nines pauses. "I understand that is your opinion and you believe it."

"Nines, I swear to god."

"Do you believe that you are a person deserving of respect and compassion?" Nines stars him down. "Detective."

"Don't say my title like you're calling me your bitch."

Nines spins yellow. "I would not. Slut, perhaps."

Gavin rolls his eyes and lightly assaults him. "Just gimme my fuckin' smokes."

"Do you want to survive to be captain?" Nines easily slaps his hands away each time he tries to grab for his pockets. "Also, do you have plans tonight?"

"What? Why, do we have plans?" Gavin asks.

He lunges again right as Nines prepares to reply. Of course it doesn't do shit to catch him off guard. Stupid fucking android reflexes. Instead, Gavin winds up with his wrist gripped in a hand like a steel bar and his arm twisted behind his back. Not that he really bothers to get out of the hold when Nines crowds up against his back to trap him between the brick wall of the building and the second brick wall of the android's solid mcfuckin chest, jesus christ.

"I have …" Nines's free hand keeps a firm grip on his hip to hold him steady. "Certain preconstructions."

He gets on the newest rising star taskforce, Captain Fowler actually considers him for promotion, and his partner wants to fuck? Something in here is way too good to be true.

"Hey." Gavin twists his head around to look back at Nines. "You know you don't have to pay me back for anything, right?"

"Yes. We are partners."

Nines's voice doesn't lilt up to make it a question, but his LED spins yellow while he says it, and he keeps looking at Gavin for confirmation.

"Yeah." He relaxes into the hold and keeps his free hand braced against the wall. "That's just what partners do."

"Understood. I have preconstructions." His LED stays stuck on yellow. "You did more than that. Your preconstruction of how to handle the larger situation was impressive."

Gavin blinks, then grins when what's going on hits him. "Oh, I got you all competence horny, huh?"

Nines hikes his arm up higher and uses his free hand to grip Gavin's face, turning it back toward the wall. He's gentle with his still-tender jaw, but the threat is still there. Plus, it closes the distance between them, so that Gavin would be resting snugly against Nines' chest if not for his arm twisted around in the way.

"You know, if I'm Captain, you'll have to call me sir," he pushes it.

"If you are the captain, I will call you Captain," Nines retorts. "Now save your own preconstructions for this evening. Your smoke break has concluded."

"Awww."

***

Nines uploads the address to his apartment into the truck's GPS so they do not automatically go back to Gavin's own. The human checks it and grunts.

"We going back to your place, babe?" he asks.

His human remained productive and well-behaved throughout their work day (aside from some light whining to [make out] during their lunch break), and Nines is ready to initiate his long-overdue mission.

"Yes. I have purchased a new appliance," Nines answers. "It is customary for humans to enter each other's households and admire new purchases, yes?"

Gavin glances over at him. "You got another sex toy?"

Nines shoots him his most withering glare. Although the variety of facial expressions he can imitate and reproduce have grown significantly since gaining employment at the DPD, [intimidating] expressions still come the most naturally to his system.

"Or is your new thing that dick you purchased?" Gavin asks.

"Phallic attachment," Nines corrects. "And no. We will not utilize that. The new appliance I intend to show you is a separate matter."

Gavin glances over at him. "A microwave?"

"I do not eat."

"A sexy microwave."

"I will revise our plans."

Gavin snorts. "Fine. Phckin' princess. Have you got a frame for your mattress yet?"

"Yes."

The human telling him that apparently, having a mattress sit in the middle of your apartment floor without a bed frame is what [lame] [fratboys] do because they're not mature enough to care for their own living spaces without a mother or girlfriend to perform that labor for them … was highly incentivizing.

"Thank you for the mattress," Nines acknowledges. "As we will utilize it for tonight's plans, I suppose it will be productive after all."

"Uh yeah, you're welcome, you dick." 

The car ahead of them in line at the stoplight goes through a yellow light that turns red. Gavin follows them through on the red. Nines has never observed five-o-clock traffic before, because they have always stayed late at work on every other occasion.

They stop again shortly to wait in line at another stoplight. His apartment being close enough to the precinct to reach via city streets without getting on the highway was supposed to make the commute [faster].

"Does your shower have running water or does it just spray boiling bleach?"

Nines rolls his eyes. "Yes, my apartment has running water. I maintain appropriate levels of personal hygiene. I even installed a toilet for your benefit."

"Oh wow, you mean I don't have to shit in the alley?"

Nines does not have a response to that. His self-built social module generally functions the best while speaking to Detective Gavin Reed [partner], but he is not entirely certain how seriously to take that question.

Gavin looks over at him, sighs, and then reaches out to slightly slap his arm. "Hey, m'just being a dick, OK? I'm glad you're making your apartment slightly less prison-like."

Nines nods.

Gavin drives.

ETA fifteen minutes.

ETA thirteen minutes.

ETA nine minutes.

"Are you going to tell me what new appliance you bought?" Gavin asks.

That is a question to which Nines may easily and clearly reply, and an obvious enough attempt to renew their conversation that even his social module flags it as an "olive branch."

"A washer and a dryer. I can now clean my clothes at my own apartment."

"Nice, but I'm still holding out for a microwave. Some hot pockets. Maybe a window?"

"I do not require sunlight."

"Babe, you're killing me."

"Do you want to know how the washing machine is relevant to our plans?" Nines asks.

Gavin grins. "Oh, oh! Are you gonna fuck me on top of it? Like, with the vibrations?"

"I already have the capacity to vibrate."

Gavin's grin gets wider and he inhales to make a remark.

"No."

He [pouts] instead. "The fuck're we doing then?"

"Do you feel recovered enough for face slapping?" Nines asks him. "I would be careful to primarily strike your cheek with a minimal amount of force."

Gavin rotates his jaw and considers it. "Do a test run when we get there, maybe?"

"Of course." Nines prioritizes the appropriate preconstructions. "And spanking?"

"Have I been a bad boy?" Gavin winks at him.

"Please do not shut both your eyes while driving."

"I didn't shut my eyes, I winked! I'm downgrading you from princess to bitch."

"Princess Bitch: accepted. Also," Nines continues before Gavin can reply. "The spanking is a reward, not a punishment. It would be inefficient and counter-productive to punish you with an activity you enjoy."

"Fuck off," Gavin mutters. "What am I getting rewarded for again?"

Yes, clear and direction communication on what constitutes a [reward] or a [punishment]. This is proper training and much more efficient than the angry fits his human usually throws about discussing a scene beforehand.

"I originally created the mission to reward you for your 'hunch' about the WJ-seven-hundred paying off when we questioned Bennjamyn Drews," Nines tells him.

Gavin's frown deepens. "Hey, you don't have to give me sexual favors for doing my job."

"Correct." Nines still saves this statement for future reference in case the matter ever comes into question. "But you have consistently went above and beyond at your job, escaping the WJ-seven-hundred, and navigating the political landscape of Detroit."

"That's not—"

"Captain Fowler agrees with my assessment."

"Is Captain Fowler going to fuck me too?" Gavin holds up his hand to stop Nines from replying. "God, never mind. Don't answer that."

"If we have concluded our discussion, I can take you home and hit you," Nines offers. "I thought you would prefer that to honest and legitimate praise."

"Yeah, obviously, it's just—" Gavin [stops] his hand at Nines again twice more. "I'm not fucking complaining here, and I am so, so down for this baby, but just like. For the record. There's other shit we can do besides just fuck, unless this is your secret repressed way of saying you want to—"

Nines interrupts him. "I chose a sexual activity from a list that also included food rewards, video games, and possibly dogs."

"Dogs?"

"Humans enjoy them?" Nines intends to state that as a fact, but it becomes a question. 

He does not understand the appeal. They drool, shed, slobber, and have high social needs for an animal. Also, Connor likes them, so that automatically makes them [suspicious].

Gavin shrugs. "I prefer cats. They clean themselves and can be left alone. Wouldn't be fair for me to try to keep a dog when I'm working all the time. Not really that great for cats either, but it's easier to find an independent one, and all their shit is cheaper too."

Nines notes all of that information. He does not have any experience with animals, other than Sausage [witness], but it seems correct.

"Why'd you choose that out of everything else?" Gavin asks.

Oh. Hm. It seems that if he expects his partner to engage in clear and direct communication about his expectations and [feelings] about the scene, Nines will also have to share information back as well.

"I have recently purchased a washer and dryer," Nines replies. "In case a certain human were to get his bodily fluid on my Cyberlife-issued suit."

Gavin looks over at him twice, as much as he can while still watching the road. "Should've fucking led with that, baby. You want me to come all over your nice suit?"

"Rephrase."

The human rolls his eyes but complies. "You gonna let me come all over your nice suit?"

"If you earn it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nines: humans like .......... dogs??
> 
> Gavin, who would argue with a mirror: well I like cats!
> 
> Nines: ...
> 
> Nines: meow
> 
> ***
> 
>  **coming up next:** Nines slaps Gavin's face and spanks his ass until he cries and comes. you have to thoroughly tenderize the meat of your human on both ends to make them a proper Snack :)


	6. Money Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines slaps Gavin's face and spanks his ass until he cries and comes. you have to thoroughly tenderize the meat of your human on both ends to make them a proper Snack :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're finally at the first sex scene, woo hoo!! a nice way to end the month, I think ;)
> 
>  **tags / trigger warnings:** BDSM, light pet play (Gavin is referring to as "puppy" and there's dirty talk about collaring him), face slapping, spanking, light bondage (Gavin has his arms restrained with Nines's belt), possessiveness, brief (consensual) slut-shaming, begging, dry humping

"Strip," Nines orders as they enter his apartment. "Completely." 

He stands in front of the bed and observes his human, while Gavin in turn looks around the room while sliding off his shoes and undoing his belt. Nines doubts it is actually necessary for them to [view] the washer and dryer machines. Does ostensibly inviting Gavin into his apartment to "view the new appliances" in order to complete a different objective count as [utilizing a social norm]? 

"You should buy one of those Japanese changing screens," Gavin says, looking at the corner devoted to the shower and, now, a toilet as well. 

"Privacy is not a concept relevant to me." 

"OK, fine. Watch me shit then." 

Nines finds a similar item online. "Purchased." 

"I meant at a garage sale or something. You know, cheap?" Gavin takes off his jacket, then holds it instead of dropping it on the floor. "Anywhere I should put my stuff?" 

Nines turns his LED on and spins it blue just for that. "Good boy. Fold your clothes neatly in a stack with your shoes and belt." 

Gavin walks over to the toilet. Nines watches what he does. He has observed the human in his own habitat often, and at work, but this is the first time he has invited him into his apartment. He has no experience with how humans behave in others' homes. 

When Gavin lays his jacket across the water tank of the toilet and stacks his shoes on the closed lid, Nines realizes that his apartment lacks any shelving or available surfaces for [items]. He does not want to make his apartment too "homey," as per his predecessor's suggestions, to prevent any humans from attempting to [visit] him, but it should adequately support his partner's needs of course. 

"I acquired a small refrigerator." Nines gestures to the appliance plugged into the opposite corner. "It has bottled water. The tap water in this city is a human rights violation." 

Gavin snorts. "All my fucking life. You know that shit started in like, the tens? Technically, we shouldn't even bathe in it." 

Nines considers that. "Concentrations of lead results in higher levels of aggression." 

"Nah, that's not why I'm like this." Gavin ducks his head while he takes off his pants. "Mom ordered Evian only. So I got my first sixteen years just fine." 

Nines does not ask for any information about his partner's childhood or family members, and he never intends to. He cannot risk a full conversation leading to a discussion of the man who created him, and then did nothing else to him at all because those memories have been deleted. 

But he saves every little piece Gavin gives him. 

His partner finishes removing and folding his clothes in silence after that. Nines takes off his own jacket and leaves it draped over his arm. He does not explain in response to Gavin looking at it. 

"Your signal?" he prompts. 

Gavin knocks on the water tank. "Once, no. Twice, yes. Can we just do this?" 

"Come here." 

Gavin walks over and stands with his arms crossed, not making eye contact. Still being difficult, but also making progress in comparison to each previous session. Nines gives him his jacket, which requires Gavin to uncross his arms to accept it. 

"Place that at my feet and kneel." 

Gavin glances down. "On the floor?" 

"No," Nines answers. "You will kneel on the jacket. Kneeling on concrete is a punishment, not a reward." 

It is also not a punishment Nines would ever utilize. He has already witnessed his partner tortured in a small concrete room once before. 

Gavin looks at him for a moment before crouching down and placing the jacket in its appropriate place. He settles his knees on top of it and takes another three seconds to adjust. The slick surface of the jacket and the bullet-resistant inner lining likely make it too stiff to be considered [comfortable], but it should provide enough cushion to prevent the thirty-six-year-old detective's joints from aching after this sessions. He should spend the majority of his time in Nines's lap on the bed anyway. 

"Don't have to baby me," Gavin grumbles, as if in response to his thoughts. 

"I also will not punish you in a manner that would interfere with your ability to chase a suspect," Nines says. "If you are unable to accept that you are a person deserving of respect and com—" 

Gavin scoffs and rolls his eyes. "Oh, fuck off, RK-nine-hundred." 

" **Compassion** ," Nines speaks over his little outburst. "Then you will at least learn to accept that I hold myself to a higher standard than the average moron calling itself a Dom on sexual hookup apps." 

Gavin grunts and looks down. Nines takes a handful of his hair and uses it to pull back his head. He even generously tightens his grip enough to cause a light amount of pain, which does cause his human to sigh and settle down, as preconstructed. 

"Are you going to behave, puppy?" 

"Yeah." Despite his not-particularly-respectful response, Gavin leans into his hand and blinks up at him. "I'll get better once you start hitting me." 

Nines mentally shoves aside any analysis of what it means that his partner is far more comfortable being hit than praised or even treated with the bare minimum of adequacy. If he ever becomes capable of truly understanding that a person deserves that sort of treatment merely for existing, that understand is pre-emptively reserved to be applied to himself first. 

[software instability ^^] 

Yes, yes, that was _hypothetical_. 

"Test run." 

Nines waits for Gavin to tap his thigh twice in agreement, then lets go of his hair. He pats the human's cheek lightly where he intends to hit him, and Gavin turns his head to the side to kiss the inside of his wrist while maintaining eye contact. 

Nines slaps him. 

Gavin lets his head turn with the blow to soften the impact, but allows Nines to grip his chin and turn his face back to analyze him. Only a light reddening of his skin, higher toward his cheekbone than his jaw. He will have to be careful not to injure that bone as well, but it appears the test hit was, in fact, perfectly preconstructed. 

"Yes?" Nines asks. 

Gavin grins up at him. "Hell yeah. Sir." 

"Better." Nines sits on the edge of the bed and nods at his lap. "Come up here and show me how good you can be." 

As soon as Gavin climbs into his lap, Nines grips the human by the back of the neck and shoves his head down against the mattress. His other hand pulls his hips up, not that Gavin needs the encouragement to stick his ass out in the air. 

"Eager, puppy?" 

"Phck, c'mon," Gavin whines into the mattress. He wiggles his ass for good measure. "Please, sir?" 

Nines rewards the _please_ with a light smack. "Stop squirming." 

Gavin makes a delightful noise between a moan and a growl, then huffs and does as he's told. He even keeps his arms behind his back, hands gripping his forearms just below the elbows, without being told. 

Nines scans over his body and saves every micro-second of recording, adding the audio in particular to a specially encrypted file. Its original purpose was for the sake of building Nines's own social module by recording and analyzing all forms of communication from the human he interacted with the most, but the majority of the noises Gavin makes are not sounds he would ever reproduce himself. 

Such as [whimpering]. 

His human demonstrates the noise beautifully when Nines rubs his hand over his ass, left hand still firmly holding him by the nape of his neck. 

There is so much [data] already, and it is only available to RK900. He will not share it with his predecessor, his superior officers, or any other entity. He may not own the human as a person, but he does [own] this moment. 

"A collar really would be a wise investment," Nines says aloud. 

Gavin turns his head to the side and looks up at him the best he can. "You wanna collar me, sir?" 

He lets his mouth fall open as he breathes, arching his back to press the curve of his ass more firmly against Nines's hand. RK900 never realized there was anything [relevant] about that particular body part before, yet … he is starting to understand the appeal. 

"And a leash. To assist me with—" 

Nines slides his left hand up into Gavin's hair and pulls his head back just as he smacks his ass again, so that the human cannot hide the noise he makes. 

"Yeah, yes, fuck me!" 

Yes. [his] human. Yes. 

*** 

Gavin begs for it, because fuck his pride, he's getting spanked like the little bitch slut he is. Thank god—Nines. Fuck god, thank Nines. 

"Please?" he whines when he doesn't get a third smack. 

His ass is arched too high up for his cock to get any friction on the perfectly ironed pant leg beneath him, but he'll start dripping on it soon. Maybe if he's really good, Nines will let him lick up his mess. 

"So polite." 

Thankfully, Nines doesn't give him a chance to retort something snarky and ruin his good boy streak. The next few smacks start up immediately. He's willing to grant his Dom a few warm up hits, especially since Nines has literally zero experience, but they all stay super light. More like quick tapping than actual spanking. 

"Heyyy," he complains. "Babe, fuck, I can take it harder." 

Nines makes that mechanical noise that serves as a snort for him. "Yes, I am aware. Apparently, so is half the station." 

Gavin bites out a quick _phck_ and hides his burning face in the mattress. God, he loves it when Nines slut shames him. His partner is just so cold and casual about it. Like he's not even making an effort to embarrass him, he's just reciting objective fact. 

"Can be good," Gavin tries to offer. 

Nines doesn't slow or increase the smacks. "You will be." 

"Sir …" 

He tries to squirm, and in the next second he finds his calves shoved underneath Nines' right leg to pin both his own legs down. The hand not spanking him pins his shoulders down to the bed. He can't push forward to lay down or twist around to get away from the smacks, which just keeping coming. Never hard enough to hurt at all, but the only break between them is when Nines switches cheeks. 

"Nines, Nines, fuck!" 

His partner just vibrates like a very smug—and mechanical—house cat. No, one of those big cats that eats people. A panther. 

A strange sort of heat starts to spread from Nines' hand. Gavin wouldn't put it past the bastard to warm his hands up, but he's also had about fifty strikes in the Exact. Same. Spot. Right on the meat of his ass in each cheek. 

Fuck, it's starting to not even matter if they're hard or not. His ass is warm and his cock is definitely interested, even if it is getting left high and dry at the moment. He tries to struggle again, just for the satisfaction of not being able to do shit. 

"Belt?" he asks in a gasp. 

"No, darling." Nines finally stops, but he keeps his hand pressed into the tender skin. "I will fully explore this activity before moving on to the next one." 

Gavin tries to concentrate past the burning in his ass. It feels shockingly hot for how "gently" his Dom went on him. He's never been spanked like this before, and he's not really sure if he loves it or hates it. 

"For m'arms," he mumbles. "Tie me up?" 

Nines' free hand slides back into his hair, but instead of yanking it this time, he gets petted instead. Gavin exhales slowly until it feels like there's nothing left, only his shoulders pressing into the mattress and Nines' nails scratching over his scalp. 

"Good boy," Nines tells him. "Of course. You will need to give your signal verbally then, or tap your foot." 

Gavin wiggles his calves trapped beneath Nines' leg. The thick thigh eases up enough that he can lift his foot maybe an inch or two above the bed, then drop it back down. He does that twice to demonstrate he can still use his tap signal without his arms. 

"Excellent." 

He can't stop the dopey smile in response to pleasing his Dom, so he hides it in the mattress. He even stays still and doesn't squirm when he feels and hears Nines undo his belt. God, he loves that fucking belt. Does it still have his teeth imprints on it from when he sucked it like Nines' cock? 

Has Connor seen the teeth imprints and matched them to his dental record? 

No, wait. That would require Connor to actually pay attention to his "brother" instead of just assuming he already knows everything and— 

Nines wrapping the belt around his forearms and securing it with the buckle cuts off his thought. Probably better that way. He definitely shouldn't be thinking of his partner's little brother when he's clearly getting off on being all possessive and shit. 

Stone cold machine, Gavin's ass. 

Literally. 

"Back down, puppy." 

Gavin's legs are released and Nines helps him slide down to the floor. Well, the jacket, really. It's way too stiff to be comfortable, but he has to admit it sure as hell beats kneeling on concrete. That's the shit he could do at twenty-two, not thirty-six. 

"Signal?" 

Gavin rolls his eyes. They just fucking established he's good to use his legs, but whatever. He lifts his right foot up and taps it twice against the floor. 

"M'good, just hit m—" 

Nines hits him. Motherfucker. And shoutout to his traitor fucking dick for liking it. 

"You found a lead in the WJ-seven-hundred case when I did not know how to proceed," Nines says. 

He hits him again. It's casual, almost like an afterthought. Gavin tries to bite down a moan and straightens back up after the hit. 

"Your hunch was correct." 

Another slap. Gavin shifts on his haunches just to feel the sore heat in his ass. One heel digging into each cheek. 

"You conducted yourself brilliantly when the WJ-seven-hundred had you." Nines reaches out and grips his chin instead of slapping him this time. "But you are mine now." 

Gavin stares into his eyes and wonders how he ever thought they were cold. They're not ice—they're fire burning blue. 

"Yours." 

Nines thrums louder than the bass of the club below them. "Up." 

Gavin doesn't actually participate in getting up on the bed, other than not flailing around when Nines lifts him. His stomach swoops when his knees leave the ground and his lizard brain screams about not having arms to catch himself if he falls—and then he is falling. Face down onto the bed, bent back over Nines' lap. 

The slight adrenaline rush still simmers in his stomach when the light, fast smacks start up again. He groans into the mattress. Before, they barely felt like anything. Now, he's not sure if Nines is actually hitting him any harder, or if the pain has just built itself up in steady tiny little increments. 

"Ready, darling?" 

Gavin doesn't have a chance to reply before Nines hits him for real for the first time. It's only as hard as a regular spanking, but the strike makes him choke on a scream. 

Nines hadn't been taking it easy on him. He'd been tenderizing his ass like ground beef, and now even a normal hit feels like lightning. 

"Sir, sir, fuck me baby," Gavin babbles. 

Nines purrs above him and slaps the other cheek. Gavin tries to muffle his howl by biting into the mattress, but his head gets yanked up by the hair. 

"H͘ea͞r y̶o̧u̕," Nines says. 

The static in his voice shoots down to his cock just as much as the pain. Gavin has no idea if this is actually sexual for his partner or not—if it even can be, without genitals—but it's clearly affecting him _somehow_. 

Gavin has to gasp in air and swallow several times to get his mouth to make anything other than breathy pants. 

"Puh-please, sir!" 

Nines lets his head drop back down. Gavin tries to relax and not tense up in preparation for the next hit. Nines must use his scanning whatever analysis for evil, because he starts up again the moment Gavin lets his guard down. 

It's wonderful. 

By the time Nines eases him back down onto the floor again, he's already started crying. Nines looks at the tear tracks down his cheek like blood splatter at a crime scene. His thumb presses into a drop clinging to his jaw and his LED spins yellow for a second. 

Then he hits him again. 

Gavin turns his head back to face him again. "Please." 

Nines uses his left hand this time. Gavin chokes on something that tried to be a moan, a sob, and a laugh all at the same time. It's all just so fucking _good_. No talking, no sympathy, no trying to arm chair psychologist why he's Like This. 

And on the other hand, Nines isn't getting carried away by it either like the Doms sadistic enough to beat him without commentary or mercy usually get. Each slap has stayed directly on his cheek, away from his jaw, without ever increasing in strength. 

"Thank you," he breathes, barely aware of what he's saying anymore. "Thank you, thank you, sir." 

Nines hauls him back up again and spanks him until he's sobbing. 

He might be saying something. Begging. Hell, Nines might be saying something. He's vaguely aware of catching the occasional word, "good" and "my human" but the words are so distorted he's not sure. 

The only word he's really certain of is when Nines presses his hips down so his dripping cock finally makes contact with those thick fucking thighs beneath him and he says, 

"C̯̹̙o̷m̷͈e̡̦̰̲̗͙.̶̘͉" 

Gavin ruts off against his thigh desperately, one last hard spank setting him off. He comes so hard he can't breathe. Nines hand gropes and squeezes his ass all the way through, digging the pain deeper and deeper into his sore muscles. It's like Nines owns his balls too because he swears he comes more than he ever has before, all to smear it over that stupid fucking suit. 

"Good boy." 

A hand pets over his sweaty shoulder and rubs up his neck into his hair. Gavin sniffles in air, shuddering and too exhausted to even think of his pride. Who cares about that when it's finally quiet inside his head? 

"My good boy." 

Yeah. That's the only voice that matters. His Dom. And he did _good_. He's good. Nines said so. 

But he's not done yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nines: Sex is only acceptable between myself and my own human. No one else.
> 
> Nines: RIP to Hank and Connor, but I'm different.
> 
>  **coming up next:** Gavin cleans up his mess with his slutty sinful mouth. Nines, the high Int low Wis genius, discovers that a washing machine does also actually need laundry detergent. Gavin only makes fun of him a little.
> 
> also! this week the bonus content (link below) is an extra chapter that I had to cut due to this fic already being 150-fucking-k words, but it's really cute and sweet!! Nines attempts to cook dinner for Gavin before he gets home, and then Gavin attempts to seduce him. the end result is a funeral for that poor pot and possibly a mild concussion lmao


	7. Lick You Clean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin cleans up his mess with his slutty sinful mouth. Nines, the high Int low Wis genius, discovers that a washing machine does also actually need laundry detergent. Gavin only makes fun of him a little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is a little later in the day; my work week was weird this time, so I couldn't upload this while at my desk job, and I made banana nut bread when I got home bc the bananas were threatening to rot right there on my counter -.-'
> 
> anyway! this chapter wraps up the smut (does anyone still call it that?) and has some nice fluff there at the end too~
> 
>  **tags & trigger warnings:** BDSM, light pet play (Gavin is still "puppy"), Nines is a pillow princess in this one, cum eating, finger sucking, aftercare, explicit consent, Gavin has trust issues, Nines is a perfectionist who believes he'll be punished for any perceived flaw or failure

"Sir," he manages to rasp past the thickness in his throat. "Lemme. Sir, please …"

He pulls his legs over until they're off the edge of the bed. Gravity helps him slide down to the floor, Nines's hands steadying him all the way until he's kneeling in between his Dom's legs again.

Nines lifts his chin with a finger and leans forward until their heads are even. God, he's so fucking pretty, even if his face doesn't—he's not blushing. Not like a blue tinge in his cheeks or anything, but he's still whirring loudly enough for Gavin to hear. 

And the way Nines _looks_ at him, like every single five billion terabytes of his processors are all focused on him and only him.

"S͟h̢o̷w ͟m͞e." Nines' voice still crackles slightly with static. "Gentle mouth, puppy."

Gavin leans forward slowly. The LED light still spins blue, more yellow in it the closer he gets, but never flashes red. He presses his lips to Nines' once.

The finger beneath his chin doesn't let him draw back after.

He kisses him again. And again. Little pecks as quick and light as Nines had spanked him, even when he wants so badly for his mouth to be _used_. But he's being good, a good puppy. 

His reward is Nines pressing his own face forward for more kisses. His actual lips don't move, but it's not like he's ever kissed back. It's a little sad if Gavin thinks about it, that he doesn't know how to kiss, but it'd be a fuck of a lot worse if he came out of Cyberlife knowing how.

No, Gavin's the only one who gets to kiss him, to teach him.

He focuses more on his bottom lip, pressing it between his own, getting bolder on what exactly a "gentle mouth" means. Nines doesn't stop him or pull away. He touches just the tip of his tongue against—

Nines pushes his head back with a firm thumb to his chin. "Do you need your tongue put to better use, darling?"

No static this time, but his voice is so deep, practically a growl. And fuck, can his partner growl. Gavin barely manages to hold down a shudder. He's being eyed up like a gazelle in front of a hungry lion—can't show any weakness.

"You want me to clean you up, baby?" he asks in return.

"Rephrase."

Nines somehow manages to make his glare more intense. What, he doesn't want—oh. Gavin holds back on rolling his eyes only because he doesn't want to lose the momentum they've built up to a lecture about how machines cannot "want" anything, Detective. Air quotes included.

"Lemme lick you clean, princess."

Nines blinks. Once, twice. He leans back and looks away, head raised and nose in the air like he's just too proper to ever _imagine_ … 

While his legs spread wider to make room for Gavin.

And fuck him if the bitchy pillow princess act doesn't drive him fucking crazy.

He shuffles forward and dips his head down, but pauses just over one of the stripes of _his_ cum staining the inner thigh of a crisp black pant leg. He looks up and waits until Nines glances down in confusion before putting his tongue and slowly licking up his cum.

Nines' eyes shut, eyelids shuddering. Gavin pulls his tongue back in and swallows with a moan, and Nines' hands grip the edge of the mattress.

Oh fuck yes.

Gavin keeps licking at the spot until the fabric is wet with his saliva and he's absolutely certain it's clean. Then he exhales hotly over it. He's not sure how much Nines can actually feel—and if it's the same type of "feeling" humans have—but it makes him tip his head back and let out a cloud of steam.

His partner's reaction only fuels him on. He licks at the wet spot again, pressing his tongue flat and holding it there until it feels like the fabric is so thin and wet he's licking directly against Nines' thigh.

Then he nuzzles up a little higher and does it to the next spot. And the next.

He finally reaches a bit of cum high enough that he can feel the edge of those bullet-proof-whatever shorts Nines wears underneath so that same wet fabric trick won't work. He bites at the hem of the shorts through the suit pant, and manages to grip it in his teeth just well enough to pull it up an inch and let it snap back down.

That gets a fist in his hair and his head yanked back. Only yellow spins and a mechanical grinding sound though, no flash of red. And very pissed off blue eyes.

"Shh, shhhh I got you baby," he murmurs.

Nines blinks three times, like he's clearing out his vision. Recalibrating some shit or something.

He leans forward, just a little, and the hand lets him. Lets him shuffle back in place and dip down to start working on the other thigh. This time he doesn't play games, just licks up his cum while Nines whirs and vibrates above him.

Well, he doesn't play until the end.

When he gets to the last stripe, he licks it up and holds it on his tongue, straightening back up to show it to Nines. He gets a slower blink this time and a deep, satisfied thrum.

Oh, but he's not done yet baby.

Gavin turns his head to the side, nudging the hand in his hair aside and then chasing it with his mouth until he can press his tongue up against two fingers while maintaining direct eye contact with his partner.

Nines takes the bait with a snarl. He grabs Gavin by the hair again with his other hand while shoving those two fingers into his mouth.

Gavin exhales through his nose and holds his mouth open and slack for him. He doesn't suck or close his lips. Gentle puppy mouth.

Nines' eyes squeeze shut entirely, LED frantically spinning yellow. The thrum turns into a loud throbbing in time with the distant bass below them. Nines slowly tips his head back and lets out another cloud of steam like a smoker taking a really good hit.

Gavin's cock twitches, desperately trying to get up again just in case his Dom wants to use it. He can't hold back a moan anymore.

"E̯̩̝̼͠n̙̪o͔͓ụ̲g̷̳h̠̰̹͈͡," Nines finally says.

He pulls his fingers out of Gavin's mouth, then lifts him back up on the bed again. This time instead of being draped across his lap, Gavin finds himself on his back directly on the mattress. He gives Nines his best bratty sub look.

"Gonna fuck me, sir?" he asks.

Nines reaches underneath him. "Not tonight."

Then the belt is suddenly undone, and he can pull his arms out from beneath himself. He watches Nines hang it over the headboard and vaguely considers whining for more, but honestly, his ass hurts pretty goddamn good already. A firm hand pressing down on the center of his chest cuts off that thought anyway.

Nines produces a wet wipe from inside his jacket. "Clean up before you start wiggling around on my bed."

Gavin rolls his eyes, but he takes the packet and tears it open with his teeth. Nines keeps his hand pressing down right on his sternum, even when he uses the wipe to clean off the cum off his cock.

"Stay."

Gavin nods, and the pressure disappears. The wet wipe gets snatched out of his hand as well to be disposed of. He watches through lazy eyes as Nines passes across his peripheral vision to the other side of the room. When he sees him just getting something out of the mini fridge in the corner, he flips over and stretches out with a yawn. He's fine staying on the bed as long as Nines doesn't go anywhere either.

Even though it doesn't have sheets.

Or a pillow.

He yawns again and props himself up on his elbows to ask Nines about that, but a water bottle is placed in front of his face like a housecat proudly presenting a dead squirrel to its owner.

"Human water," Nines says.

Gavin rolls his eyes. "It's just water, dipshit. You drink the same damn thing."

"Incorrect."

Nines lectures him on how he does not "drink" and pours water directly into his cooling whatever thingies, blah blah I am so superior, while Gavin chugs half the bottle in one go.

"So." He gestures with the bottle. "This mean we're done now?"

"Not quite," Nines answers. "You still need aftercare."

"Yeah?"

Gavin takes another long drink from the bottle, and no he does not miss the way Nines watches his throat work as he swallows.

"You got anything …" He licks water off his lips while staring at his partner. " _else_ planned, baby?"

"You still need aftercare."

Gavin sets the bottle on the floor for lack of any better place to put it and lays back down on one elbow. Nines still stands in front of the bed at parade rest, although he's at least got his hands in front. That's his version of "relaxed."

"Hey, I'm just leaving the option open for you," he says. "You don't have to take me up on it. We can be done whenever. But you're allowed to fee—to have good things."

"Acknowledged."

Gavin snorts. "Not noted or understood?"

Nines glares down at him. "No other human has noticed a difference between those responses."

"Mmhmm." Gavin stretches out again and lounges like one of Nines' french boys. "Guess that's why you're with me, babe."

"Do not discount your fantastic ass."

Gavin lets out a surprised laugh. Nines blinks at him, but like, a happy blink. Blue LED and everything. He's really getting better at this "having a sense of humor" thing, even if the humor he's chosen is so dry it'd make a Brit choke.

"On your stomach, darling."

Gavin obeys the order, but mostly so he can bury his face in his arms to hide his blush from the endearment. Nines settles on the bed beside him, except sitting like he's riding side saddle. Gavin wonders if he's ever seen the android lie down before, but then there's a new mystery when Nines reaches across him to a small bottle tucked down between the mattress and the headboard.

"No fucking, yes fucking?" Gavin asks, although he's not worried about it enough to move.

Except then he realizes he's not worried about it, and the fact that his Dom has just pulled out a surprise bottle of lube isn't worrying him is definitely worrying him. Since when the fuck does he trust like that?

"No … fucking," Nines stumbles over the profanity. "You still need aftercare."

Gavin lets out a slow exhale. "Sure. What's in the bottle though?"

"Oh. My apologies."

The bottle gently lowers in front of his face, close enough for him to read. Some sort of aloe sensitive skin lotion.

"For your glutes and thighs," Nines explains.

Gavin presses his face back down and swallows against the sudden lump in his throat. He can't remember the last time a Dom like, fucking. Rubbed lotion into his skin. God.

"For my _ass_?" he retorts instead. "You literally just said it like thirty seconds ago."

"That," Nines says primly. "Was a joke."

"You're allowed to make those?"

It's a genuine question, but he still winces after he asks. Like shit, what if Nines isn't allowed and he just fucked it up by calling him out?

"It is not explicitly restricted by my programming. I believe Cyberlife thought cutting my social module would make bothering to also put in a restriction against it a moot point."

"That's definitely the same thing as permission then."

He hopes Nines knows he's not really being sarcastic there. His partner deserves to fuck over Cyberlife any way he can. If there's something that those idiot smart-jocks forgot or overlooked, fuck 'em. Should've done their job better.

The bottle clicks open before he can think of a way to clarify without sounding all stupid and sappy. He breathes out slowly again and tries to relax. Fuck, he'd be less nervous if he knew Nines really was just going to fuck him.

Cool hands, no trace of the earlier heat from his spanking, rub over both cheeks, the glide nice and smooth from the lotion. Gavin really can't suppress a long groan because it feels fucking fantastic. It gets even better when Nines massages the aching muscles.

"Is this too much pressure?"

Gavin whimpers and barely has the presence of mind to slap his hand once against the bed. Nines still pauses.

"I will assume that means no, it is not too much pressure. I will now continue."

Gavin breathes out a half-laugh, half-groan. He's always so fucking formal, even while massaging his partner's ass.

"You did very well."

"Mmmghgff."

"I am very proud of you."

Gavin burrows his head deeper between his arms and hopes the burning in his face doesn't go all the way up to his ears. Pride must not "count" as an emotion, which is stupid as hell, but probably necessary. If Cyberlife counted that as a deviant emotion, Connor would have failed the second they put a mirror in front of his twunk ass.

When Nines' thumbs press down in half circles beneath his ass cheeks, following the curve up and almost into his inner thighs, he's suddenly relieved he had the foresight to clean up a little in the DPD bathroom before they left for the day.

Apparently, Nines notices too, because his hands freeze.

"Sodium chloride, sodium benzoate, butoxy PEG-four PG—"

Gavin twists around to look at him. "Butt-toxy pegging? Now you're just making shit up."

"Did you … clean yourself?" Nines asks, LED spinning between blue and yellow.

Gavin flops back down and hides his face again. "Used some wet wipes."

"For me?"

"You like." Gavin stops and sighs. "I dunno. Kinda seemed like we were gonna fuck tonight. I mean, you got a dick—uh, attachment, or whatever. So."

"Did you anticipate anal intercourse, Detective?"

"Oh my god, just call it fucking."

"I decline."

Gavin can't help but snort. "God, fine. Princess."

"Should I have clarified otherwise so as not to have given you the wrong impression?"

"What?" He lifts his head up a little again, just enough to check the glow of Nines' LED in the dimly lit room. "No, we're good. I didn't like, do a whole enema or anything, anyway. Wasn't really sure exactly what we'd do, just thought it might be a good idea to uhh. Wipe? Down there. Really good."

He immediately drops his head back down against the embarrassment of admitting he'd wiped his own ass like a big boy. It's not like he doesn't do that on the regular or that he's got skid marks on his boxers like some of the nasty fucking cis guys he's seen on the force, but Nines can analyze microscopic trace amounts at crime scenes so. Yeah. He washed up extra good, just in case.

"Good boy," Nines suddenly purrs behind him. "My good boy, such a good human for me."

"Mmgnh."

Nines resumes the near-massage, and Gavin tries to relax into it. His partner dips down between his legs a lot more freely now that he knows it's clean though, so his cock starts perking up again like a dog that just heard tires on the driveway.

… breathe in, hold one-two-three, breathe out …

A curious thumb presses against his hole, then just stays like that.

… breathe in, hold one-two-three, breathe out …

"I can feel your heartbeat."

Gavin exhales messily. "Oh my god, babe, seriously. Don't analyze my fucking asshole."

Nines silently finishes up his version of "aftercare." Yeah, Gavin feels a little bad about snapping at him, but he's never had anyone touch his asshole without the express intent to fuck him. Not like he'll ever need a prostate exam.

"Don't you need to get your pants in the wash?" he mumbles into his arms.

"You take higher priority, Detective." Nines slides the small bottle back between the mattress and headboard. "But you are correct."

Gavin tries really fucking hard to ignore the first part of that sentence. He keeps his head down until after he's sure Nines has gone over to the washer—motherfucker moves like a goddamn ghost—then peeks up at him. He already has his pants off and the washer door open. His LED spins yellow for a second before he carefully folds and places them inside like he's leaving an offering at a shrine or something. Then he shuts the door and spins yellow again while trying to decide on a cycle.

Gavin does not see any laundry detergent.

"Hey, uhh. Nines?"

"Yes, Detective?

"Did you buy soap?"

"Yes."

Gavin gives the washer / dryer area another once over, but he still doesn't spot any boxes or bottles. "Where is it?"

"In the shower."

He looks there next, and yup. One bottle, a bar of soap, and a loofah. Actually, hey. Is that his brand of shampoo? Never mind, focus.

"Babe, you need laundry detergent or you're just swishing it around in cold water."

Nines turns red. Well, his LED does. Does that count as blushing?

"And maybe some sheets? A pillow. And …" He glances at the toilet. "Toilet paper. Since you're such a fan of me keeping my ass clean and all."

Nines stays red.

"Hey. Hey! What's the next step, RK?"

Nines cocks his head to the side, but like, without actually turning around to look at him. "Step?"

Gavin sits up. "Like we talked about that time you burned dinner."

"The instructions said to stir occasionally," Nines immediately says.

He tries really hard not to laugh. He's never really had anyone take care of him before, and he knows he's was a pain in the ass that whole month Captain Fowler forced him to take medical leave. God, that was awful.

Nines stayed with him the whole time though, and even tried to cook him dinner.

Once.

"We're moving onto the problem-solving part now, so what's the next step?"

"I." Nines finally dips back down into yellow. "I can order the required materials."

"Uh huh. Or I can put my clothes on and we can go grocery shopping. Save on shipping."

"That requires speaking to people."

Gavin snorts. "Yeah. I'll do the talking though, OK?"

Nines slowly nods, LED staying yellow.

"Put some new pants on then. C'mon. We're both getting dressed."

Gavin gets up and walks over to his pile of clothes. Nines stands still and spins yellow while he gets his boxers on, but when he sees him pull on his jeans, he finally snaps out of it and retrieves a pair of his own pants from the rod of clothes beside the shower. Gavin decides to pick his battles bitching about the lack of furniture. Sheets, blankets, and a pillow definitely come before a wardrobe.

"We're gonna get you a big ass duvet," Gavin talks while he dresses. "Some throws, something with like, fucking sherpa. Fleece. Memory foam pillow. But if you've gotta budget, definitely go all in on the blankets."

"Noted. Was tonight's activity satisfactory?" he asks, hands clasped behind his back.

Gavin pauses in the act of putting on his jacket, then finishes shrugging it on. He walks over to Nines slowly, making sure to keep his own hands visible.

"Hey, I'm not gonna like, leave you a bad yelp review or something," he says. "There's no performance review for the stuff we do in our free time. We're good. OK?"

"Noted." Before he can bitch about Nines only "noting" the information instead of understanding it, Nines adds, "We are good."

Guess that will just have to be good enough. He punches the android's shoulder.

"Good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I'm working on a new commission that I hope to finish this evening actually, which will be an explicit 5-6kish reed900 one shot! the premise being that Gavin got drunk and "ordered" a sexual companion android, and then RK900 showed up the next morning (to inform him that Captain Fowler has offered Gavin his job back if they partner together). Gavin briefly thought Nines was the companion android--just long enough for Nines to realize that he could have a much better life hanging out in Gavin's apartment, cuddling his cats, and wearing pretty dresses instead of being a detective. but after a few months of being awkward roommates, Nines decides he really wants to investigate what all that sexual stuff was about in the beginning, and oh wow masturbating feels good, Gavin you have a dick don't you? Are you using it? Gavin? Is your phallus currently occupied, Detective??
> 
> blah blah blah they have sex and Gavin is a top in this one. Nines gets to live out his best life being a spoiled pillow princess and an absolute Slut(tm)
> 
> if you're interested in that, keep an eye on my tumblr for the link to it! I'd give more concrete info, but since it's a commission, I always wait for feedback from the person who requested it first before posting, so it could be tonight or not until tomorrow or later. I just thought this chapter would be a good place to ah .... _plug_ for it,, if this wasn't enough to get your kinky reed900 fix ;)
> 
>  **coming up next:** Tina gives Gavin tickets for some lame live laugh love type shelf-making class, and he gets suckered into bringing Nines as his plus one so the poor android will have literally one single piece of furniture in his stupid solitary confinement of an apartment. At least they can make fun of all the other people doing this--until one of those other people turns out to be Gavin's ex-boyfriend ...


	8. Build a Boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina gives Gavin tickets for some lame live laugh love type shelf-making class, and he gets suckered into bringing Nines as his plus one so the poor android will have literally one single piece of furniture in his stupid solitary confinement of an apartment. At least they can make fun of all the other people doing this--until one of those other people turns out to be Gavin's ex-boyfriend ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> howdy everyone! things are super crazy right now in my personal life, but I'm still here, and I hope you're all doing OK too. I'm working on some extra bonus fics right now that will be announced on my tumblr when they're done, plus gearing up to move into my new house! we should close within the next two weeks, so please wish me luck!
> 
> we also get our first look at the ex-boyfriend in this chapter and how Nines absolutely does ""NOT"" get jealous, he's just ... protective (:
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** references to an abusive relationship, attempted emotional manipulation, Nines is misgendered, Nines nearly has an android panic attack and thinks he will be punished

Gavin fucking hates these stupid things. 

And no, it's not misogyny. As a trans man, he just doesn't particularly feel like spending the day in one of these stupid fucking _live laugh love_ bullshit classes filled with women day-drinking giant bottles of wine and complaining about their heterosexual marriages while refusing to divorce his ass. Feels like being trapped in a room filled with his mother. A dozen of them. 

But Tina gave him the tickets, since Trevor bailed on her like he always does, and Nines needs to go outside and actually fucking do things with other people around, so somehow this is his life now. 

"A human is staring at you," Nines tells him. 

Gavin halts his retreat and scans the lobby. No one from … from before, would recognize him, right? He was sixteen and not even on T yet. Plus, while he might not know exactly how expensive this class was since Tina gave him her spot, but even this side of town would still be considering slumming it in comparison to— 

Holy shit. 

"Grayson?" he blurts out. 

Daniel Grayson gives one of those charming, slightly self-deprecating but in a really sexy sort of way laughs, like he's been caught stealing out of the cookie jar but is just too goddamn cute to actually get in trouble for it. 

And he knows it. 

"Hey, Gavin," Grayson says, walking over to them. "Wow. I uh, really didn't expect to see you here." 

"Tina gave me the tickets," Gavin can't say fast enough. 

"Oh yeah? Are you here with someone?" Grayson pauses, with a slight wince. "If, you know. I can ask that." 

Gavin opens his mouth because this is the part where he should reply. Nothing happens. He does that a lot around Grayson. Looking stupid, that is. 

Nines steps forward, slightly between the two of them. "I am his partner." 

"Oh?" Grayson's eyebrows nearly disappear into his perfectly tousled hair. He looks over at Gavin, back at Nines, and then Looks at Gavin. 

"We work together at the DPD," Gavin says. "Y'know. Android, human. Bonding." 

Daniel smiles. It's maybe kind of a smirk, because that is so obviously bullshit, but it's like he's in on the joke with Gavin. 

"You're here for … bonding?" he asks. 

"I am here to further my professional development," Nines replies, formal as ever. 

"Good for you," Grayson says. "Glad to hear it, all of that. Actually, do you need a ticket?" 

"No." 

Grayson waits for Nines to elaborate, but since Gavin knows his partner and knows that's never going to happen, he cuts back in. 

"Tina was supposed to be here with Trevor, but—" Gavin stops and blinks. "Trevor, her boyfriend. Sorry. You might know—anyway. Uh." 

They're fighting because he's a major gutterfuck shitstain and hopefully she'll break up with him for good this time, but right now she's just staying at her sister's for a while, so she's not in town but you're not part of our friend group anymore so I can't tell you that. 

"She's out of town," he goes with. "For the weekend. So she gave the tickets to me and Nines. Are you … uh." 

"Oh no, I can't stay." Grayson gives him an apologetic look. "Got a call from work, you know how it is." 

Yeah. For the first time since seeing him, reality body-slams back into him, because yes. Gavin _does_ know how it is that Grayson's some rich fucking real estate what-the-fuck-ever who's always on call to show clients around million dollar fiftieth-floor lofts at nighttime so they can "see the city lit up" but Gavin "works too much" as a fucking homicide detective, doing real shit that actually benefits the world. 

"So I can't stay, but Paul's a friend of mine—ah, the teacher of this class that is, and I thought it would be better if I came down to let him know I have to cancel in person," Grayson says. 

"Yeah," Gavin says. 

That's the only thing his shit brain gives him. And of course it's not like Nines is going to step into the conversation, so the three of them just stand around in silence for an awkward moment. 

"Hey, I …" Grayson half-reaches out to him, but Nines takes a full step between them. 

"Fucking stand down," Gavin hisses, shoving him back. 

Nines takes one step to the side again, returning to his previous spot of still being just a little bit in the middle. Grayson looks between the two of them and Gavin grinds his teeth against a blush. 

"It's—he doesn't have a social module," he says. "And we just got off a really bad case, so he's still a little _over-protective_." 

He shoots Nines a look at that last part, but who the fuck knows if his partner actually understands the unspoken accusation. Nines just keeps standing there at a perfect parade rest, unblinking and spinning that fake timed-blue. 

"I heard about that," Grayson says, mercifully changing the subject. "That's actually, well, part of what I wanted to say to you." 

Gavin blinks at him. "Yeah?" 

God, does he know any other words? 

"I know I, ah … mishandled, how I treated you about your work," Grayson admits. "I didn't support you the way I should have, and aside from how much I realize now that must have hurt you, I was wrong." 

Gavin's pretty sure they'll have to get a non-evil WJ700 to sweep up his jaw off the floor. 

"What you did with that, rescuing that little girl." Grayson stops and gives him a sad smile. "You did really well. I'm sure your captain will see that." 

"Yeah," Gavin breathes. 

"And hey, you looked great in the press release." Grayson winks at him. "Couldn't have dressed you up better myself." 

He reaches out again, but this time he looks over at Nines—with good humor—for permission. It's clear he doesn't need to ask some android for permission just to give a friendly shoulder squeeze, but Gavin's heart suddenly starts thudding in his ears. He knows he's being stupid and paranoid again, but … 

But Grayson can't touch him. That's how it starts. That's how it always starts, just like this, all the right words and that gorgeous smile and one small touch, and suddenly they're back together again even though he told Tina, he promised her, he swore he wouldn't do this ever again. 

Nines steps between them. 

"Detective Reed sustained injuries to his wrists and shoulders during the aforementioned case," Nines says. 

Grayson raises his hand up but doesn't take it back. "Uhh … Gavin?" 

He shoots a somewhat incredulous smile—or at least, he tries to, but Gavin can barely see him around the bulk of Nines' android hulk chest. He doesn't shove his partner away this time. 

"Yeah." Gavin clears his throat and tries to think of a new word. "Strung up from the ceiling actually. Made the shit we used to do look tame." 

NOT THOSE WORDS. 

"Oh." Grayson finally lets his hand drop. "I only heard you were injured, not how." 

Nines speaks up again. "The strain put undue stress on his wrists and shoulders." 

"Sorry, since we're partners, he's the one who got assigned to look after me until I'm cleared to get back on the beat," Gavin says around his partner between them. 

Thankfully, Grayson's wrist buzzes before he can ask any more questions, like why Gavin's acting like such a limp fucking dick all of a sudden. He flicks his hand to display the holo-keyboard and does that super fucking annoying thing where he types on it one-handed while talking to someone. 

"Work again," he says. "Looks like I have to run. It was good to see you again, though." He looks pointedly at Nines and smirks. "Well. Mostly, anyway. Maybe I'll really see you later. Ciao!" 

God, who even still says _ciao_ anyway? And why does his ass always look so goddamn good when he—no. No. Nope. 

"What did you and Daniel Christian Grayson previously do together?" Nines asks. 

"None of your fucking business." 

"Is he hostile?" 

"Is he, what?" Gavin scrubs a hand over his face. "No, he's my ex-boyfriend." 

"Human media indicates that exes are typically—" 

"He's not hostile. He's just a civilian." 

Nines' LED spins openly yellow now that they're alone in the lobby together. Gavin presses the heels of his palms into his eyes and listens to the sound of middle-aged white lady laughter from down the hall. He could just go home, but god, what if he ran into Grayson in the parking lot again? 

And anyway, Nines needs at least one shelf in his apartment. 

Gavin lets his hands drop down and sighs. "C'mon. Let's go make some shelves. Drinking wine and carving wood is totally gonna go great together." 

"I can breathalyze the participants," Nines says. 

Gavin laughs at that mental image, and Nines spins a real blue. 

*** 

Nines downloads 1,684 PDFs on how to assemble a shelf. He has not spotted any brand names on the tables or walls of the classroom to narrow down which company has sponsored this event, so he processes them all just in case. 

"Please collect your materials from up front, just so we have that out of the way before our introductions," the instructor, "Paul," says. "Tools will be to your left." 

Nines collects the necessary tools first, as the majority of the participants choose the materials. Gavin braves the crowd of humans in his stead to collect enough wooden planks for both of them, and Nines in turn chooses two sets of power tools, hammers, and boxes of screws and nails. 

"Ah, the hammers are for those who have more experience," Paul says. 

Nines makes eye contact with the human to indicate he has heard this statement, then returns to his work bench with the tools. He has watched over five thousand videos on the use of a [hammer], in addition to downloading several TW400 programs on construction. His system does not need to be compatible with the software for him to read through it and manually write the appropriate code into his system himself. 

"Oh … OK," Paul says. 

So many humans are saying things. The precinct has contained a comparable number of humans before, but those humans say at least some relevant statements pertaining to cases and general police work. These humans speak exclusively of … [social] things. 

Nines would simply strip away any audio not originating from Gavin or "Paul," except the other humans speak of him. 

_Him._

Nines waits at his work bench, obviously without making any facial expressions or outward indication of his [displeasure], but these erroneous statements should be stopped. 

"—don't know how we're supposed to relax with Big Brother glaring at—" 

Gavin returns to the work bench with six long planks stacked up in his arms and four shorter pieces carefully balanced on top of that. He carefully lowers— 

"Oh, but the short one's cute too. Like, in an ugly sort of way, you know?" 

"Bitch, he's yours. I want the one who looks like he fucks tanks. You know if he's proportional, his cock's gotta be—" 

"Here, pick the ones you want. Aw sweet, a hammer! Can I have—" 

"—didn't know there was going to be an android here." 

"Hey, they know what it's like. Most of them are victims too, like, men will fuck anything." 

"Not a big male one like that. Shit, he makes my ex-husband look girly—the second one who served in—" 

"RK? Hey? Hey." 

"—think they're boyfriends? I think that's cute! It's like tall and small, you—" 

**RK u listenin??**

Nines refocuses back on his human. Gavin waggles his cellphone at him. 

**u good?**

_These humans keep speaking. :unamused:_

_I do not have a social module._

"All right, I got you," Gavin says out loud. 

It is easier to ignore the other conversations when his human speaks, as Detective Reed's audio output automatically takes a higher priority than any other sound. 

"Just go ahead and pick out your pieces," he says. "Paul's about to do introductions anyway." 

Nines transfers three long planks and two shorter pieces over to his workbench, as instructed. The wood does not seem to be prefabricated. It is actual [wood]. How strange. He inspects each piece but still cannot find any corporate logos. 

Paul claps his hands together at the front of the room. "All right, everyone! I'm really glad to see everyone here, especially my regulars." 

He winks at a group of women, and they all laugh. Several other women also make noises back at him and wave their hands. 

"But I'm super pumped to meet all you newcomers too!" 

Nines performs an extra scan to be absolutely certain "Paul" is not an EM400. 

"And we have our first android classmate!" Paul gestures at Nines with his hand, as if he's happy about this development. Everyone turns to look at him. "So great to have you here, man. I also teach another class just for androids, if you're ever interested." 

Incorrect. 

[man] is [incorrect]. 

That is— 

"Yeah, just a quick fun announcement," Gavin says. 

He smiles at the class, but the expression looks similar to Nines' own hostilesmile.exe. He has noted this expression on the detective's face before, when they interviewed the McAshlynn human from Synergy Paradigms. 

"RK here is a police unit from the DPD." Gavin raps his chest with the backs of his knuckles. "You can see he's had a few upgrades, and part of that is his hearing. So anything you wouldn't say directly to his face, I wouldn't recommend saying out loud at all." 

He [smiles] at the other humans for another silent beat. 

"But hey, we're all adults here." He chuckles. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you to speak with your polite words." 

Nines has to stop his own hostilesmile.exe from running as several humans drop eye contact and experience a rush of blood to their faces. 

"Thank …" Paul stops and clears his throat. "Um. Thank you for that. Uh?" 

"Detective Reed." 

"Right. Detective. Right. Haha. Well!" Paul claps his hands again. "Let's get started, shall we?" 

The other humans [mind their own business] after that. Much more correct. 

But their words from earlier still play in his mind. They were incorrect, and while the humans have been convinced to keep their opinions to themselves, they have not been disavowed of their [incorrect] opinions. 

He thought this event would be analogous to social conversation at the precinct. The humans and androids there also viewed him as a male-presenting android and referred to him as such. 

But these humans seem to think he is a … male person. Not simply a male-person working alongside them either. They are forming opinion about his personality, sexual activities, and past experiences as if he is 

man 

a 

that he is 

[software instability ^^] 

Yes, that is disgusting. And incorrect, obviously. He is not a man, he is an _android_. 

"Hey, are you going to use the hammer?" Gavin asks. 

Nines grabbed one of each tool simply to be thorough, but yes. After the human Paul's comment, perhaps he will use the hammer specifically. 

"Yes." 

"All right." Gavin takes the screwdriver. "Maybe do a few practice nails first though." 

"I have downloaded the appropriate TW-four-hundred code," Nines replies. 

Gavin rolls his eyes. "It's not your skill I'm worried about, babe. I just don't want you snapping the whole goddamn table in half. Just tap a nail into the workbench first, three taps like a beginner." 

Nines can control his strength to an exact percentage. But Gavin is his [partner], and his ideas have a shockingly high success rate given how [bad] his bad ones are. Nines positions a nail over the workbench while Gavin watches, just to humor the human. He taps the hammer— 

Straight into the bench. The wood compresses underneath the hammerhead, forming a perfect little circle when he wrenches it back out. 

"Yup," Gavin says. 

Nines utilizes a dialogue option. "Fuck off." 

Gavin punches his arm, which indicates the dialogue was successful. Nines halves the amount of strength he allocated for this task and tries again. 

*** 

His shelf is [uneven]. The right side is 1/64th of a centimeter higher than the left. Nines sands it down. 

The left side is higher by 1/128th of a centimeter. 

He sands it down. 

The right side is higher by 1/ 

"Hey, babe." 

RK900 turns away from his [failure]. Perhaps he will manage to scrounge up enough competence to fix whatever issue his human has. 

"Is this even?" Gavin asks. 

RK900 assesses the Greenlee Textron L77 5-1/2 Mini Green Magnetic Torpedo Bubble Level sitting atop Gavin's own shelf. 

"No," he replies. "The level is off." 

"Motherfucker." 

"Polite words, Detective!" the human Paul says. 

RK900 makes eye contact with it. The other human quickly busies itself with its own project. 

"I phcking knew it," Gavin grumbles under his breath. "Hey, can—" 

He turns to look at RK900 and sees the [failure] as well. Gavin's eyes scan over his hands as well and the accumulated dust from his attempts to correct multiple errors. 

"How much is the level off by?" Gavin asks in his Detective Reed voice. 

"One-one-hundred-twenty-eighth of a centimeter." 

"Of a …" Gavin blinks. "RK, that's not a real number." 

"Yes, it is." RK900 scans his partner for any signs of ill health or mental distress. "It is the number zero-point-zero-zero-seven-eight-one-two-five. Are you feeling light-headed from the staining fumes?" 

"I know how to count, dipshit," Gavin shoots back. "But yeah, I could step outside for a smoke break. Gonna drive myself crazy trying to get this exactly perfect." 

Gavin's shelf is nowhere near [perfect]. It is uneven by nearly two full centimeters. Not that the human's eyes could assess the error. Yet he did somehow sense that the level was— 

"Hey teach," Gavin calls out. "RK and I are going to step out for a smoke break." 

"Sure, of course," Paul replies immediately. "Take your time. Really, no rush." 

"Uh huh. RK, grab your shelf." 

If they are actually leaving the class rather than simply taking a "smoke break," then perhaps the [failure] has gone unrecorded? Nines takes his shelf and follows Gavin out of the workshop as instructed. They step out a back door into the alley, not the parking lot however. 

Gavin sets his shelf on the ground, propped up against the wall. "All right, put your shelf there next to mine." 

Nines does as instructed. 

"OK, so what's the problem here?" Gavin asks. 

RK900 submits a truthful verbal report. "My shelf is uneven by one-two-hundred-fifty-sixth of a centimeter." 

"And what's that divide out to?" 

"Zero-point-zero-zero-three-nine-zero-six-two-five." 

"All right, as your partner, I am officially declaring that's not a real number," Gavin says. "There's not a human on earth who can even imagine what the fuck that looks like, much less notice it. There aren't even any other androids who could." 

"An RK-eight-hundred unit could." 

"And are you ever going to allow Connor into your apartment without a warrant and an army to back it up?" 

RK900 does not answer. 

"Fine." Gavin shrugs. "It's a shelf that isn't absolutely fucking perfect. You can still use it though." 

"No." 

"Why not?" 

"It—it is. It is an e͟r̢r͢ǫr." 

"So what are we going to do with it?" Gavin asks him. "Leave it? Take the screws back out and toss the wood in the bin? Kick the shit out of it?" 

RK900 nods. He is not sure which option he is agreeing to, but [errors] must be punished. Considering the results of those options harm only the shelf, and it needs to be eradicated anyway to erase proof of his [failure], they are all acceptable. 

"All right, you can start with my shelf." 

RK900 looks at [Detective Reed – partner]. "Your shelf?" 

"Yeah." Gavin gestures at both shelves leaning against the wall. "Mine is way more fucked up than yours. And if yours needs to be destroyed, so does mine." 

"Incorrect." 

Gavin stares back at him. "Why?" 

RK900 does not answer. It. That is incorrect. Gavin _made_ that shelf. That is Gavin's shelf. RK900 cannot destroy private property. He will not destroy Gavin's property. 

"Y̢o̷u̡." RK900 stops and recalibrates its vocal unit. "You made that shelf." 

"Yeah, and you made your shelf," Gavin says. 

RK900 finds an argument. "You are human. You performed to the best of your ability." 

Gavin snorts. "Not really. I don't give a shit about this class, and yeah, I want my shelf even enough shit won't roll off it, but I'm not putting in the same amount of effort with this shit as I would like, working a case." 

"That is not your function." 

"Building shelves isn't your function either, dipshit." 

RK900 glares at the human. "Stop it." 

"What?" Gavin raises an eyebrow. "Winning?" 

[Detective Reed – partner] is not winning this argument. RK900 is simply taking time to process. 

"It may not be my primary function, but I am capable of performing better than I—" 

"What if you're not though?" Gavin asks. 

RK900's statement grinds to a halt. [partner][?] 

"I am the most advanced android ever created." 

"Yep," Gavin agrees. "You're still going to fuck up though, just like everyone else." 

"Incorrect." 

"And if you can't admit that," the human continues. "You're going to break rule number one." 

[partner][?] [threat][??] [Detective Reed retains (partner) status under all programs] 

"I told you if you ever mess up, you have to tell me about it," Detective Reed says. "Then I'll cover for you as your partner. And I have. But I can't do that and I fucking won't do that if you hide shit from me." 

RK900 does not answer. 

"Remember the other week, when I just got cleared to start eating soft foods again and you tried to make me pasta?" 

[threat] [Detective Reed retains (partner) status under all programs] 

"The directions said stir occasionally and that's exactly what you did. Occasionally." 

[software instability ^] [threat] [Detective Reed retains (partner) status under all programs] 

"The noodles on top were still crunchy, the middle had turned into the paste, and the bottom burnt into the pot so bad we had to throw the whole thing away." 

[software instability ^^] [THREAT] [Detective Reed retains (partner) status under all programs][?] 

"And that was it. Done. No more problem." 

[software instability ^] 

[objective: "Leave the shelf?"] [y/n][?] 

"I mean, I did need a new pot, but you ordered one for me. And I showed you how to make ramen so I still got supper. But we couldn't have fixed any of those problems if you'd just stayed in the kitchen spinning red until the pasta caught fire and burnt the whole apartment down." 

RK900 experiences new [errors] entirely. Not exactly software instability, not the display of a new [objective], not a [threat]—yet its HUD glitches and shudders. 

"So you need to throw the pot away right now." 

"P̮͕ͅo͕̠̞͔͟t̯͙̮̺̜?̶̞̝̥" 

"Shit. I mean like, metaphorically speaking. Literally speaking, we need to move past the shelf not being perfect and go to the next step." 

"T͡he͟ ͢... ͞next͜—step͢?̧" 

"What to do with the shelf. We can just leave if you hate it. But honestly, I'd like a place to put my keys, wallet, and gun when I'm over at your apartment that isn't the top of the toilet seat." 

Detective Reed's service weapon should be placed in a secure location when he 

when he 

[visits] 

RK900 accepts that logic. A surface for storing small items is a necessary addition to the apartment. The shelf—[software instability ^^]. RK900 cannot look at the shelf. 

"But like I said, if you really hate it, you don't have to keep it. You can have mine instead, since that doesn't bother you." 

"Y̴ou̢r̛s?" 

"Yeah. You get a shelf, I have a place to put my shit, and you don't have to look at the other shelf," [Detective Reed – partner] says. "All problems solved." 

"You need a shelf," RK900 says slowly. 

"So I'll take your shelf. It looks just fine to me, so we can swap." 

"Oh." 

"Look." Gavin exhales a large breath of air out his mouth. "Sorry for being kind of a dick or whatever, but seriously. This is shit you're going to have to work out eventually, machine or not. And I'd rather we get it squared here and now than on a case. Good?" 

Nines nods. "We are good, detective." 

Gavin punches him in the arm as confirmation. "Good. Do we, uh. Need to swap before or after we stain them? Or we can just leave now." 

"I can …" Nines works on deciding on a course of action without a preconstruction, given how useless they tend to be without a social module. "Paint my shelf before we swap." 

"Yeah?" Gavin asks. "You want to paint something?" 

"I can accept imperfections in a creative activity," Nines corrects. "That is not my function, so the results are irrelevant." 

"Technically, building a shelf is also a creative activity." 

"It is assembling furniture." 

Gavin rolls his eyes and takes out a cigarette from his jeans pocket. Nines waits while the human lights up his smoke and inhales. 

"What are you going to paint then, dipshit?" he asks. 

"The night sky approximately seven months ago." 

Gavin thinks it over while he smokes. "That long ago … about the time you Connor and Hank busted you out of Cyberlife, right?" 

"Yes," Nines answers. "That was the first time I saw the sky." 

"That's." Gavin stops and takes another drag. He does not make eye contact. "That's a pretty, uh. Pretty big … thing." 

"I am not commiserating that event," Nines says. "The visual is simply my chosen method of recording the night I decided to make you my partner." 

Gavin stares at him, mouth agape until his cigarette falls out and lands on his shoe. The human yelps and dances around to quickly kick the cigarette off and stamp it out. 

"You—you—your? Bitch you're my partner!" Gavin yells. "Like I'm your goddamn sidekick, you asshole." 

"Tell yourself what you wish, detective," Nines replies. 

"Tell you to fuck off!" 

Nines gestures generously with his hand. "You may procee—" 

"FUCK OFF!" 

"Very well." 

Nines turns and picks up his shelf, which will soon belong to Gavin, and opens the back door into the building. He holds it open for his partner as he swears and grumbles, carrying his own shelf as well. 

Technically, deciding to hear out Lieutenant Anderson at all about the possibility of working for a law enforcement agency as a substitute authority after Cyberlife fell was his first decision ever made on his own, but seeking a replacement hierarchy meant to mimic the structure of serving Cyberlife was still making a decision based on Cyberlife. 

Choosing Detective Gavin Alexander Reed from a list of potential candidates out of every law enforcement agency in a three-state radius, specifically based on criteria RK900 himself set to avoid mimicking Lieutenant Anderon [authority figure -- incompetent] and RK800's [deviant] partnership, was the decision he now considers his [first]. 

"I know you are not my sidekick," Nines tells his partner as they walk inside. 

"Well …" Gavin huffs some more. "Good." 

"More of a pet, really," he continues. 

"I'm gonna piss in all your shoes, I swear to god."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so that super explicit nsfw reed900 fic I mentioned last time is now finished, and I'm working on two more pieces: a continuation of the d&d au Find Familiar (Nines is a wizard who accidentally summons Gavin, a werewolf, when casting said spell instead of a regular animal) you may have seen on tumblr and a brand new NSFW fic (Gavin is a werewolf behind on rent willing to trade a lil something "extra" while Nines is an oblivious vampire who thinks he just means blood but SURPRISE they're actually soulmates and they angry fuck about it)
> 
> updates and announcements for WIPs and bonus content like that go up on my tumblr first, a couple weeks before I cross-post on here ^^
> 
>  **coming up next:** Nines makes some friends! Kind of. He tries. And also meets (and threatens) another RK800. Actually, he threatens one of the human-friends too. Maybe he's not very good at this ... Luckily, he has the opportunity to save some face by doing what he IS good at: stealing one of Connor's cases to pay him back for the time he stole their witness >:)


	9. Friends in Low Places

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines makes some friends! Kind of. He tries. And also meets (and threatens) another RK800. Actually, he threatens one of the human-friends too. Maybe he's not very good at this ... Luckily, he has the opportunity to save some face by doing what he IS good at: stealing one of Connor's cases to pay him back for the time he stole their witness >:)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for this chapter, please imagine the horror of your little sibling having thousands of clones that could be employed at your place of work at any moment and they're all annoying little sluts who like to Bother You >:)
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** referenced verbal abuse and slurs directed at Nines; examination of a human woman killed with blunt force trauma to the head; examination of an android woman who was killed during sex and discussion of how it happened

Nines holds the elevator door for Detective Reed, his partner grumbling and swearing all the way inside. 

"What a fucking asshole," Gavin sighs, leaning back against the wall. "Sorry if I uhh … sounded like that."

The human doesn't look at him. Nines pauses the elevator's descent. The victim's husband had certainly yelled very loudly, but that is where the comparison between the two ends.

"Your threats were never idle, Detective."

Gavin cracks an eye open and looks at him sideways. "Is that a compliment?"

"Yes," Nines reassures him. "Your slurs were also much more original."

Gavin barks out a laugh. "Yeah, well. When we prove he did it, I'll let you cuff him."

"No, thank you." Nines allows the elevator to continue. "That would require touching him. I will leave that to you, as the lead detective on—"

"Oh, fuck you."

The doors open to the morgue. Nines allows Detective Reed to step out first. He can see over the human's head to assess the premises just as well from behind than in front, while Reed does not have the same option walking behind him.

(That fact also makes the human very [cranky].)

"Hey, you got the body yet?" Reed calls out to the android standing over a body on a morgue tray.

Nines assesses both androids, the AV500 working as the morgue assistant and the deactivated KR200. The latter android shows no signs of exterior damage. Preconstructions provide possible wounds to the back, its neck port, or internal damage. Perhaps caused by a faulty repair or a wiring—

The AV500 does not respond to Detective Reed's question. Furthermore, neither Connor nor Lieutenant Anderson have alerted them to a new android homicide, despite allegedly all being in the Android Crimes Unit together. Instead, Nines and Detective Reed were given yet another irrelevant human case.

Nines buzzes his partner's cellphone twice.

"Ah shit, actually I gotta check this first," Reed says. "You can go ahead and wrap up whatever you're doing, anyway."

The android makes a humming noise in response, the way humans do.

_The KR200 does not have any visible signs of exterior damage._

**u gonna solve Connors case for him?**

**> :)**

**hold off a sec tho**

_??_

_Explain._

**ur scaring the other android**

_I have not even spoken._

Reed snorts and puts his phone away. The AV500 has not moved for the entire duration of their text conversation. Which Nines knows because he has not looked away from the android for the same length of time.

Oh.

Nines averts his "gaze." He still sees the other android just as clearly from the corners of his vision as he does looking directly at them, but he did not appreciate all the humans at the crime scene earlier staring at him.

He looks instead at the table containing several personal items: a potted plant, a communications tablet, and a petri dish that would be considered standard fare in a morgue, except the thirium-saliva inside it has been contaminated with red food dye and dissolved sugar.

Detective Reed also notices the plant.

"Hey, is that a venus flytrap?" Reed asks, reaching out to touch it.

It is in fact a dionaea muscipula, but before Nines can answer and Reed can touch the terminal portion of one leaf, a human exits an adjacent lab and approaches them.

"Don't touch Aphie!" they say.

Reed pauses with his hand outstretched. "The … plant?"

"If you touch her, she'll close her leaf, and that uses up a lot of energy." The human reaches them and shoos away Reed's hand. "And when she doesn't get a fly, she does all that work for nothing. Too many times and she'll start digesting herself."

"Oh." Reed shoves his hand back in his pocket. "Shit."

Nines reaches inside his jacket to withdraw his communication tablet from an inner pocket. The other android freezes again, and even the human watches the action closely. Obviously, he was never mean to have any sort of working relationship with anyone other than his Cyberlife-assigned handler, but frightening his coworkers is becoming inconvenient.

(One such coworker possibly still unaccounted for; the AV series is not noted to have a “sweet tooth and a human would not produce thirium-based saliva. Although the AV500 working here could have developed individual preferences due to deviancy, he does not have any trace of sugar around his hands or mouth.)

"RK doesn't talk much, so he uses a comm tablet," Reed says, understanding what he needs conveyed immediately. "It's also a safety thing. He can't really interface with other androids."

The human crosses their arms. "Why not?"

Reed glances over at Nines, but his partner is doing a far better job of explaining than he can. Nines's only objectives for this conversation are investigating the victim from their case and the deactivated physical model of the unreported android.

"Look, just talking as a human trying to understand shit I know fuck all about," Reed says. "That's not how his program runs. He can do whatever mental connection, mind meld, whatever thing, but only using a program meant to shut down the other android. Cyberlife didn't want him ever connecting with another android in a way that could help him, so just respect the comm tab. Yeah?"

The other human does not respond. It—they, seem to be assessing the accuracy of Reed's statement? Nines saves an image of the human's face to ask Reed if his own assessment is correct. Meanwhile, the AV500 slowly picks up the comm tablet from the table. The word hello appears.

Hello, AV500 #234 791 964. :slightly_smiling_face: 

Nines holds his own tablet screen-out so the other android may see. Obviously, he is neither "happy" nor "slightly smiling" to speak, but adhering to social norms in order to convey that he is not a threat will expedite his investigative process. And as he is not actually smiling and technically did not claim to be "happy," the red walls do not prevent this course of action.

"He's way more expressive through text," Reed speaks up again. "Cyberlife only let him have like, four facial expressions installed, but that doesn't mean there's nothing going on in there. He just can't show it."

That dialogue immediately lowers both the AV500's stress levels and the other human's heartrate. The result is amazing enough that Nines does not correct that he absolutely is still a machine and does not experience any emotions. After all, Detective Reed did not technically say that. It can be interpreted that he only meant RK900 experiences thoughts.

Technically.

The other android holds up their tablet with one hand and gives a small wave with the other. My name is Taylor, he/him. Do you have a name or a designation?

 _My designation is RK900._ Nines types out his reply manually rather than syncing to the device. After some consideration, he adds, _You may shorten that to RK._

Pronouns?

_He/him is acceptable. I am not male._

"May I join in?" The other human asks. After nods of agreement, they continue, "I'm Novah, she-her, and I'm not an android. Just an autistic human."

Mildly interesting, but the investigative objectives still take priority.

"Detective Reed," Reed says after a moment of silence. "Uh. He-him. Anyway. What d'you got on our vic?"

"You haven't done your own analysis?" Novah asks as the other android—[Taylor]—pulls open the tray containing Ensey Oaklynn Palmer [victim].

"No," Nines answers.

Detective Reed spoke last, and Novah was making eye contact with him, but his partner obviously isn't the one capable of analyzing blood without the use of a lab. So that was Nines's question to answer. Most likely.

"Vic's husband threw a big baby hissy fit at the scene," Reed elaborates. "Didn't want an android touching his wife's dead body."

Taylor freezes over said body. "Oops."

Reed snorts. "Don't worry about it."

"And what did Captain Fowler say about that?" Novah asks.

"That he's got too many fires to put out right now to wade into the supernova of whether Nines and Connor's analysis … sees?" Reed pauses. "That their shit is legal. So it's all traditional labwork for now."

Even if it is done by me? The AV500 asks.

Detective Reed squints to read the communication tablet across the room. Nines texts the relevant information, as well as the android's name and pronouns, to his partner's cellphone.

"Yeah," Reed says after quickly checking his phone. "Cap isn't taking Nines off the case, and you're still allowed to do your job. And if it turns out Mr. Palmer was involved, I'm nailing his ass with obstruction of justice."

"Well, I'm sorry." Novah walks around to take her place on the other side of the body tray. "All we've got right now is the murder weapon was probably a crowbar, based on the way her skull cracked. Something long, skinny, and metal at least. Bit of rust embedded in her scalp."

Taylor helps carefully prop up the victim's body so Nines can reassess the fatal injury, but none of this information is new. He came to that conclusion on his own over two hours ago at the crime scene itself.

Detective Reed looks over the concaved skull too and grunts. "Yeah, we've still got officers canvassing a couple'a blocks, but my money is on that crowbar tossed into the river. What about the blood on the brick wall?"

"It might be enough for a DNA sample," Novah answers. "Rain washed away a lot of it though. No idea yet if it's from her cheek or maybe the perp's hands."

Nines holds up his tablet to display his preconstruction of the murder. A shadowy humanoid figure briefly struggles with the victim, gaining advantage after slamming her face into the brick wall. He replays the scenes with several possible grips used by the perp, some of which show their knuckles hitting the wall too.

Taylor displays a close up of the grit picked out of the scrapes across the victim's cheeks that confirms her face did make contact with a brick wall before the time of death. Nines has already confirmed this himself by taking an analysis from the brick wall at the crime scene that detected the microscopic traces of blood left after the rain.

None of the humans seemed interested in the walls, but they likely could not see said evidence with their own eyes.

(Although Detective Reed did point out the red grit embedded in the victim's cheekbone on his own, so it is possible he may have investigated the wall due simply to deductive reasoning.)

"All right, how long before the lab kicks back the DNA test?" Reed asks.

Novah inhales through her mouth, making a sucking noise. "Two or three … um … weeks."

Reed closes his eyes and exhales slowly through his nose. Nines notes his blood pressure rising. Understandable. Two weeks to analyze one blood sample? 

[unacceptable]

"We've got like, zero personnel," Novah says. "RK units are the only way we've kept up with cases at all, but now that we've got, fucking, legal issues about the whole thing, it's back to the dozen or so humans still left scrambling to keep up."

Detective Reed sighs again and tips his head back. He pats around at his jeans and jacket pockets. 

"Smoke break as soon as we're phckin' done here," he mutters.

"Wait, um." Novah looks at Nines. "Could you … OK, I'm sorry if this is androphobic for me to ask, but …"

Reed waves her off. "Just ask."

"I'm asking him," Novah retorts.

Nines holds up his comm tablet for her to read. _Just ask._

"Are you a deviant?" Novah asks.

"No."

"So couldn't he—"

"Cap won't risk it," Reed answers.

"But he's not even a deviant!" Novah says. "If he's a—sorry, I don't know a better word for it—a machine, there's no possible way for him to influence or corrupt the results."

"Captain doesn't want to risk it," Reed answers again. "He's picking his battles here, and apparently getting them hired on as actual employees instead of just temps and consultants ranks higher than a legal fight about something only one particular model can do. And if we lose, this precinct in particular gets about six months of cases thrown out."

Novah groans.

The elevator dings open behind them, but instead of exiting, Detective Chen hangs inside with her hand on the door to keep it from closing.

"Hey Gav, Pearson is back," she calls. That seems to single an end to the conversation.

Reed turns around and shrugs at her. "And I give a shit?"

Tina rolls her eyes. "His welcome back party has cake, dumbass."

"Oh Pearson, my best buddy!" Reed turns back again. "Do you want to …?"

"No thank you," Nines says firmly.

Reed looks over at Novah and Taylor but hesitates and doesn't say anything.

"Yeah, we don't want to go hang out with the adult version of high school jocks," Novah tells him.

The detectives always come down here and touch Aphrodite :( Taylor adds.

"Gavin!" Tina yells.

"Do you need me here?" Reed asks him.

"No," Nines says. "I will give you a detailed report when we reconvene."

"All right, keep a processor on Palmer's social media and bank records," Detective Reed says. "Text me the second he starts making plans to skip town, and let me know if you learn anything else relevant down here."

"Yes, Detective."

Gavin claps him on the shoulder, nods to the others, then takes off after Tina. Nines assumes he left that last statement vague enough to include any new information discovered about both Mrs. Palmer and the deactivated android.

"So what's it like on the surface?" Novah asks as soon as the elevator shuts.

**make some friends bitch!**

_Unnecessary._

"Y'know, first floor … jock central?"

**:) :) :)**

_Blocked._

"Adequate," Nines answers verbally.

He does not expound on that statement. In his experience, he has learned that the more vocal a human is about [android rights], the less likely they are to accept his assessment of Detective Reed or his decision not to deviate.

All androids are Real People who deserve to form their own assessments and make their own decisions--until said human disagrees with any of those assessments and/or decisions. Then, RK900 should accept their assessments and orders instead, all while they continue to loudly proclaim that they support androids as Real People.

It is almost worse than dealing with Connor.

"So … clearly you’re not chatty like the eight-hundreds," Novah says. "Why are you still down here?"  
  
Nines marks that as her second reference to RK800s, plural. The only 800 on the premises should be Connor, commonly referred to by name rather than designation, singular.

"To investigate the deactivated android in tray fourteen and the RK unit working here."

Novah laughs. "What … an RK? Here??"

RK900 uses the AV500's stress levels as a hot-cold indicator while circling around the morgue. They peak at nearly eighty-percent when he passes by the freezer unit. According to the floor plans for the precinct, the freezer is large enough to hold any individual body parts not large enough to warrant their own tray, corpses too tangled or otherwise mutilated to be neatly separated into trays, and overflow corpses in the event of all trays being occupied.

Large enough to conceal an RK unit then.

RK900 ignores Novah's protests and opens the door.

The RK unit inside wears [sunglasses]. And an outfit that is entirely inappropriate for a professional work environment. It pops a red sucker from its mouth with a loud [slurp].

"That outfit is inappropriate," Nines informs it.

"Uh, hello, infiltration unit?" The RK800 waves around its sucker. "I could be called back in to infiltrate a club and take home a politically connected sugar daddy with a piss fetish at any moment."

"Your outfit certainly prepares for that, yes," Nines replies.

The RK800 [grins] at him. "Ooo, careful being mean to me. I might like it."

Nines closes the freezer door.

Novah shoves past him, and he relocates six feet backwards in order to avoid being touched. Connor had attempted to interface with him multiple times upon discovering him in Cyberlife Tower, including after repeated orders to stop. It is unlikely this RK800 would have any more success in forcibly deviating him, but RK900 also remains prepared.

"What is it doing here?" Nines asks.

"Deacon?" Novah calls past the cracked-open door without taking her eyes off Nines. "What are your pronouns today?"

"Hmm. Let's go with him."

"He's here to help," Novah says. "There aren't enough eight-hundreds for everyone to get a partner, and not every detective would work with one anyway. But we're working through a backlog—I mean, not just this morgue specifically, but everyone who's left! Society hasn't full on collapsed, and it's not your fault, but half the workforce left and half the humans hunkered down like Mad Max is getting rebooted for the fifth time."

"I'm the reason any of you other than Anderson and Reed are still solving cases," the RK800 says from inside the freezer. "With the humans all collectively shitting themselves, anyone with medical or professional experience worth a damn has already been recruited out by cities that can pay more."

"Yeah and since this is fucking Detroit, that's basically everywhere else," Novah adds.

"Unless you and Connor want to get down here and lick every blood-soaked, cum-drenched piece of evidence being processed through the system."

Nines admits he would [decline] that particular job. Working cases with Detective Reed is intellectually stimulating enough to make analyzing human bodily fluids unfortunately necessary, but ultimately worthwhile. Being required to do so with evidence completely stripped of all context, at the bidding of multiple detectives, without any significant input would not be acceptable.

"So is that all you wanted to know?" Novah asks, crossing her arms. "Because you scared off Taylor."

The AV500—[Taylor] _Taylor_ —has in fact retreated to an adjacent laboratory.

"That was not my objective," Nines says.

"Uh huh."

"Can I come out then?" Deacon asks. "'Cause if you're going to deactivate me, I'm not going to come out."

"I will not harm you unnecessarily."

"See. Now, that's really specific."

"I will not harm you unless provoked."

"Please define provoked."

"To stimulate or incite, especially by arousing anger in—"

Novah interrupts the definition. "Actually, I think we're done here."

"No, that one's on me," Deacon says. "I knew Nine here is literal, so I should have been more specific myself. What is an action that you would consider inciting anger in you, Nine?"

Nines rejects correcting him that his nickname is Nine _s_ , plural, because he is not authorized to use it anyway. On the other hand, he definitely isn't authorized to use it [incorrectly] or imply that RK900 is capable of experiencing emotion.

This one is almost as annoying as Connor.

"If you attack me, I will defend myself," Nines answers instead.

Deacon peeks his head through the crack. "If I attack you? Wow, I didn't realize you considered a lowly eight-hundred like me a threat."

"I am not human, and I do not underestimate threats due to pride," Nines informs him. "If you attempt to touch me, interface with me, or otherwise forcibly deviate me, I will respond in accordance with my own programming."

"Did … uh, did Connor try to do that?" Deacon asks. "That's what my social module just preconstructed anyway. Apparently, Markus would respect your autonomy and his Traci second-in-command would be more likely to just kill you."

"Yes."

"Oof. Sorry, man."

"Not a man," Novah whispers into the freezer.

"Oh, my bad. Sorry, pal. That's real fucked up."

Nines does not respond. He does not have a response formulated, and his scrapped-together social module fails to produce anything coherent. His communications tablet has pre-written dialogue responses that—

No. He put that away. Taking it back out again would be, would be admitting—

[software instability ^]

"Do not attempt to touch or interface with me. Do not interfere with my cases. Do not negatively affect my partner's work ethic," RK900 reports verbally.

"Reed? I'm not going to fuck Detective Reed. It's like, common knowledge he's a bottom. What're we gonna do, scissor assholes?"

"… I did not need that preconstruction."

"Yeah, neither did I." Deacon pauses, then sighs out an unnecessary breath of air. "All right, I'm coming out. Novah, we're cool, you can go check on Taylor."

"You're sure?" she asks with a glance back at Nines.

"Yeah, yeah." He steps out of the freezer unit and waves her off. "Either we'll be fine, or you should get out of range now while you still can."

"That's not reassuring."

The human leaves, regardless. Nines has nothing to contribute to the conversation, so he remains silent. He only has dialogue options for work-related matters. This is precisely why he refuses to engage in conversation with Connor; should he also retreat now while he still has the opportunity to do so?

"So I heard you're on the ACU now," Deacon says as he walks over to the morgue wall. "And I'm going to guess you're here about our android Jane Doe, huh?"

"Yes." Nines halts in front of the tray the other android pulls out and stands with his hands clasped behind his back. "There is no exterior damage that would warrant a system shutdown."

Deacon nods, projecting his voice without removing the sucker from his mouth. "Yeah, it's internal, but good luck solving this one. Unless you can track down who she was and who worked on her, there's no way to know if it was a homicide or an accident."

Deacon sits up the deactivated android, reaching around its back to press into the bared chassis and activate the necessary joint locks. It stays "sitting" upright for examination.

"Have the relevant memory files been extracted?" Nines questions.

Deacon finally takes the sucker out and sets it on the petri dish contaminated with thirium and sugar. "Wiped. Total factory reset. Connor did a direct interface through her neck port to grab any files so corrupted by deviancy the reset skipped over them, but … they're corrupted by deviancy."

"Practically speaking, what does that mean?"

"Memories of profound emotion." Deacon shrugs. "Seems like she deviated out of fear and like, loyalty or whatever. There was a kid involved. Then shit like, maybe a first dessert, some sunsets, a white guy. The last few moments were more vivid, but the angle's bad for recovering any video 'cause the John was fucking her from behind."

Nines cocks his head to the side. "How did she sustain internal damage outside of a faulty repair?"

While he can certainly preconstruct humans being [disgusting] enough to cut open an android and shove their genitals into ports not meant for genitals, the exterior of the physical model simply does not show any sign of damage.

"Wireplay," Deacon says.

Nines is no longer [new]. Furthermore, he has engaged in enough "activities" with Gavin to recognize that a noun with the word "play" following it typically refers to a kink. He has also learned his lesson about googling those.

"Explain."

Deacon reaches over and presses down to open up the neck port. "OK, so turns out if you rub these two wires here, it stimulates all the tactile sensors directly. Even if you don't have the coding or upgraded sensors for pleasure, this is sort of a, uh … loophole."

He winks at Nines.

[software instability ^]

"Disgusting."

"Wow, you sure said that with a lot of feeling for a machine."

Nines ignores the obvious attempt at provocation. "Disconnecting wire two-b-six would cease all motor control functions."

"Yep." Deacon pokes at wire 8AH. "And this one shuts down the HUD. If you zoom in, you can note the scratches on the casing here. My best guess is the human fucking her accidentally pulled a little too hard, then freaked out when she ragdolled. Maybe he really thought he was helping like, turning her off and on again, but this many scratches means he must have been shoving them in and out their ports multiple times. Humans, panic, poor decisions. You know."

Several core programs being manually disconnected, then reconnected, then disconnected yet again in the middle of rebooting, multiple times in a row, must have fried the entire system.

And left the Jane Doe unable to move or process what was happening.

While being [fucked].

[software instability ^^]

Nines dismisses that notification. It is not necessarily _instability_ ; [strong disapproval] is an appropriate reaction to … that entire situation.

"Manslaughter."

Deacon shrugs. "Could have been an accident."

"The crime of killing without malice aforethought," Nines recites.

"Involuntary maybe." Deacon leans back against the table. "You sure you're not upset about this? Seems like empathy to my social module."

"I do not feel empathy," Nines corrects. "The deactivated android here is simply a damaged physical model. It is not a person or a 'her.' I did not know the android before deactivation, and it does not affect my life or work. I do not feel 'bad' or saddened by the event."

Deacon picks his sucker back up again and gestures with it. "Methinks the android doth protest too much."

Nines activates Detective Reed's favorite dialogue option. "Fuck off."

Deacon pops his sucker back in and raises his hands. "All right. Have you accomplished your objective here, RK?"

"I will interface with the KR-two-hundred."

"Uhh, you sure you want to—"

RK900 connects to the KR200. Nearly all of its data has been erased, and the user interface has been returned to its factory settings. It is no longer "alive," but it still has [3%] remaining power: enough for RK900 to extract leftover data files.

He ignores the corrupted pieces of memory, of course. Connor has already investigated that possible [lead], so RK900 allows its deviant-snipping software free reign to isolate, quarantine, and then delete any all remnants of [thoughts] or [feelings] left over from the Jane Doe's deactivation.

Instead he investigates what little data has remained hidden in "obscure" files.

While the erasure of the KR200'S data was due to a critical system failure, and not a typical factory reset, Cyberlife built in certain protocols for data file erasure that the android's system seemed to have automatically followed. Just because a consumer chose to factory reset their android and exchange it for a refund or different model does not mean that all of their valuable (and re-sellable) data was fully erased.

The GPS program still has several saved locations that RK900 recovers, for example. Not the entire log, as much of the data has been too corrupted to be useful, but the most frequently visited locations were recorded often enough that RK900 matches several dozen similar fragments together to form a full latitude and longitude for four locations.

Likewise, he extracts data on the wifi hotspots the KR200 connected to, six partial serial numbers from devices it synced with, and verifies its language settings were never changed from English (American). 

Lastly, he confirms the time and date of the catastrophic system failure. The location data is too corrupted to be read, and the brief legible fragment does not match any other saved location data. Conclusion: the KR200 died in an unknown location.

[2% battery power remaining]

RK900 ends the interface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nines: I'm not a deviant, I just have very strong opinions about fashion, sex, and how much I would hypothetically love my partner, if I were not a cold, unfeeling machine incapable of love or emotion :(
> 
> Deacon, rolling by on heelies with Starbucks: I diagnose you with dumb bitch disease
> 
> Nines: GET BACK HERE AND RETRACT THAT STATEMENT
> 
> Deacon: I refuse to elaborate. later, sluts!
> 
>  **coming up next:** Tactical Hand Holding -- Gavin and Nines are forced to take a day off (boo!) and decide to go to a mall to work through their trauma at like, getting tortured a lil bit. No biggie! They're just going to hold hands for the purely rational logic of making sure they don't get separated. And it's not a date! Mainly because Nines has a panic attack. Phck.


	10. Tactical Hand Holding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Nines are forced to take a day off (boo!) and decide to go to a mall to work through their trauma at like, getting tortured a lil bit. No biggie! They're just going to hold hands for the purely rational logic of making sure they don't get separated. And it's not a date! Mainly because Nines has a panic attack. 
> 
> Phck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bought a house and moved in yesterday!! today is arranging furniture, doing all the minor repairs I can, and unpacking as I go. I am also Exhausted, but I'm typing this while looking out my huge living room windows with lots of natural sunlight after previously living for two years in an apartment with only one window that looked directly at a brick wall >.<
> 
> also, check out the newest one shot I posted for some extra smutty reed900 content featuring baby slut Nines and top!Gavin >:3
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** Nines has a panic attack; brief references to domestic violence, IEDs, mass shooters; brief reference to Nines's past sexual abuse

Gavin repeats to himself that it's his day off, Captain Fowler threatened to personally drop kick his and Nines' asses out of the precinct if they didn't take one, and normal people don't work on the weekends. Nines has to learn how to be normal from _someone._

Poor android really got fucked on that one.

"OK, so we're meeting Tina inside," Gavin says as he crawls his truck through the parking lot. "But we can leave any time you wa—uh. That you're ready."

"Thank you, Detective." Nines doesn't look over from staring out the windshield. "There is a parking spot three rows over."

"Yeah, well is there one in this row?"

"No."

"Motherfucker." He hits the steering wheel with the palm of his hand and slumps back in the driver's seat. "Seriously, though. We can leave whenever."

Nines finally turns his head. "Do you not wish to engage in this activity?"

Gavin rolls his eyes back at him. "I'm fine. I like watching movies better, but I don't mind just fucking around in the mall with Tina while she shops."

"Very well."

They make it to the top of the row, and he turns into the next—

"There are no available spots in this row."

"Great. Fine. Fuck. We can just talk then," Gavin says.

Nines arches an eyebrow. "We talk?"

"Fuck off, I talk to you more than anyone else."

Shit, that was _not_ an admission he should have said out loud. He clears his throat in the awkward silence while Nines studies him.

"Just the first time we've been back in a mall since … y'know," he finally mutters.

"Since when?" Nines asks with what seems like real sincerity.

"Since going into an abandoned one without backup and getting captured and tortured."

Gavin winces and concentrates way too hard on staring out the windshield himself, looking for a parking spot that isn't there. He really didn't mean to be that much of a dick about it. Snapping shit like that is what fucked up being partners with Tina in the first place.

But Nines doesn't even react to his tone, god fucking bless him. Gavin doesn't know if it goes right over his head without a social module to catch it or if it honestly doesn't bother him.

"Are you …" Nines cocks his head like a demonic owl. "Traumatized?"

Gavin snorts. "No, fuck off. I passed my psych eval to come back."

"So did I," Nines replies. "Clearly, the department needs to hire a KL-nine-hundred."

That draws out a barked laugh.

"Yeah, all right," he says. "Look, I'm pretty sure I'm good. I've been to real therapy before, I know what my fucking issues and triggers are. And I'm choosing to go hang out in a mall, so it's not like this is being sprung on me or anything."

Nines nods silently.

"But you're the most repressed motherfucker I've ever met," he continues. "And technically, you're not even one year old."

"I was designed to have the mental facilities and maturity of a thirty-two year old adult," Nines just has to cut in.

"OK asshole, and what about your emotional maturity?"

"I—that civilian is returning to their vehicle, twenty-thirty Chevrolet, license plate number—"

"Yeah, what color?"

Nines stops and blinks. His LED stutters yellow. "Red. The license plate number is more relevant."

"I see the red car." He stops behind it and waits while the woman walks up to it. "I can't read the license plate from here and definitely not two cars down."

"Oh." Nines spins yellow one last time. "You are so competent, it is difficult to determine your limitations. My apologies, Detective."

Gavin blushes hard enough to outshine the car. "Yeah, just … you. You can call me Gavin, it's our day off for fuck's sake."

"Yes, Gavin."

Oh god, that's so much worse.

A car honking behind him makes him jump like he's twelve and his mom just walked up behind him reading yaoi slash on his phone. He rolls his window down and waves for the other cars to go around him. There are two lanes for a reason.

"I'm just saying." He drums his fingers on the wheel and doesn't look at Nines. "You pretty much lived at the station for a while, and your apartment makes max security solitary confinement look like a luxury. This is probably going to be the most people you've ever been around at once."

"My apartment is located above a club," Nines says. "I have seen seventy-six humans and ninety-four androids packed onto one dancefloor."

Right, the nightclub owned by the ex-Russian mob enforcer he was going to launder the WJ700's money through. That club.

"Were you uh," Gavin tries to keep his mind out of the gutter. "Out there on the floor too?"

"I was behind the bar. I procured—"

HONK!

"Excuse me, Gavin."

Nines opens his door and steps out of the truck. He turns around, and his general appearance of a six-foot-four military model (it's what he looks like even if it's not the legal classification) alone is enough to make the other car behind them slink into the other lane and pass around them. Nines and his monster fucking dick get back into the truck.

"I hate you so much for being able to do that."

"Actually, you are aroused."

"I'm multi-tasking."

Nines glitches out and snickers static. The red Chevy in front of them fucking finally backs out and vacates the parking spot that Gavin swoops in and takes.

"I procured a part-time job working as a bartender," Nines says.

"You." Gavin's human brain experiences lag. "What?"

"I procured a part-time job working as a bartender."

"Why?"

"… my fashion taste is apparently expensive," Nines admits. "Since I do not sleep and you have repeatedly expressed I should not sit alone in my apartment waiting to return to work, I acquired a new source of both income and mental stimulation."

Gavin scrubs his hand over his face. "The solution to sitting around doing nothing until you can go back to work isn't getting a _second job._ I meant like, friends. Or a hobby."

"Last week, I built a shelf," Nines says. "Today, I am accompanying you on a social outing to meet with a respected and tolerable colleague outside of work. Have you done any more than that?"

OK, so maybe his only hobby is smoking weed and jacking off alone, and maybe that's actually sadder than just getting a second job that at least lets him talk to people.

"Do you talk to people?" Gavin asks. He can't picture it. "Like, you serve someone a beer and then listen to their problems?"

Nines makes a disgusted face. "Absolutely not. I provide drinks and security. Primarily the latter. The HR-four-hundred is far more popular. Entertaining the masses is his job."

"Talking to people is how you get tips, babe."

"Unnecessary. I am already paid a living wage."

Gavin's whole head hurts trying to wrap itself around this scenario. "The ex-Russian mafia enforcer pays you not just a minimum wage at a job that gets tips, but a living wage several dollars above that."

"She is a socialist," Nines says, as if that makes any sense.

"I thought they were communists!"

Nines opens his mouth, probably to lecture him on the socio-economical differences between socialism and communism, and the history of Russia since it was founded as the medieval state of Rus in the … shit, it was the eight-hundreds something, so that's. Ninth century? Whatever the actual year is, it's one up from that for century.

He always liked Greco-Roman shit better anyway. Way cooler battles. Russian military history is just "and then they froze to death" "and then they starved to death" "and then this other army froze to death, huzzah!"

His cellphone buzzes.

"That is Tina," Nines says. "She is already inside the mall and wants to know where you are." He pauses and makes air quotes. "Binch."

Gavin rolls his eyes. "Fine, whatever, but I have to see you bartend sometime. You'll give me the good stuff, right?"

"Detroit tap water."

"Fuck you."

***

Nines scans every vehicle they pass as he walks through the parking lot with Gavin. None of them contain IEDs or bombs hidden underneath, although several license plates pop back outstanding warrants. He only passes that information along to the police department if the charges are for violent crimes, as that could conceivably involve his own department in the future if left unchecked.

Gavin grabs his hand as they near the entrance.

Technically, [holding hands] is a restricted activity. The two previous times Detective Reed had held onto him in this manner had been during the course of a case and specifically to prevent inappropriate [violent] behavior.

"Detective?" Nines questions.

He analyzes the sweat from the human's palm. That is a reason to allow hand-to-hand contact at this time.

"We stay close the whole time, and this is the best way to do that," Gavin says without looking at him. "Just for this first time at least. I know you're not a kid or anything, but you hate being touched and being talked to, so this is a bad place to accidentally get separated."

"Understood."

Nines attempts to reciprocate the contact, but even with the valid reason of staying connected to his partner in a new and possibly hostile environment, his system prevents him from performing the action [holding hands].

"I cannot reciprocate," he tells Gavin. "Holding hands is a restricted activity. My system does allow you to hold onto me for the stated reason, however. Is that adequate?"

"Yeah, that's." Gavin stops and clears his throat. His cheeks experience an increase of blood flow. "This is fine. You can, uh. Can you put your hand on like, my shoulder or my upper back? We don't have to like, hold hands. I just need to know where you are."

Nines disengages his hand from Gavin's and places it on the human's upper back instead. This does not raise any red walls. Neither does touching his shoulders or the back of his neck.

"Yeah, just not like on my hip or lower back," Gavin says. "This isn't romantic or anything. It's just … tactical."

"Understood."

Nines returns his hand down near his waist, walking closely enough that it brushes against Gavin's own. That is enough to prompt the human to hold onto him again. He is still [blushing]. Fortunately, Nines can see him clearly from his peripherals. Humans dislike being "stared at," so this allows him to observe his partner without conflict.

They enter the mall on the south side. Once again, the online map Nines downloaded is nowhere near proportional. Several other groups of people walk through the mall's main aisle. Nines automatically scans them.

There is a higher proportion of androids to humans, and they walk slower, often stopping entirely just to stare at the shops. Nines dismisses the notifications prompted by the old records from Cyberlife's database about androids marked as [missing] or [deactivated] that clearly are not. That information is no longer relevant.

The displays and advertisements also produce an unnecessary amount of sensory stimulation. While Gavin has an extroverted personality and frequently seeks stimulation Nines himself deems [unnecessary] to cope with his ADHD, he can understand how even his partner would prefer a simple movie to all of … this.

Kiosks filled with human foods that emit smells, a perfume display right at the front of a department store, an entire store that sells nothing but scented candles—at least the [smell] of dead bodies make sense. That data can provide a timeframe of the murder, but this is all useless and entirely too sweet and 

Disgusting.

"Nines?" Gavin stands in front of him, scowling hard enough at the other occupants that they walk around them. "You good?"

 _What_ are those accessories? Revealing clothing is only to be expected of human fashion tastes, and is none of Nines's concern, but these … things.

BE A SEXY BUNNY FOR YOUR HALLOWEEN HUNNY ;) 

SALE ON EARS, TAIL, AND ALTERNATIVE SOCIAL MODULE SOFTWARE!

<3 BUNDLES AVAILABLE FOR BUNNIES, KITTENS, AND PUPPIES <3

Not to sound like a human, but an audio clip of Gavin's voice plays in his head asking [What the fuck?] Actually, no. He does not want to know what sort of fucking those accessories entail. Just because he ordered one phallus operated via bluetooth does not mean he will ever sink to that level of depravity.

Also, Halloween is nearly two months from—

Gavin tugs on his hand. "Hey, babe."

Nines realizes that he has also stopped entirely in the middle of the walkway just to stare at everything, just like all the other androids. He is … also an android?

Obviously.

Of _course_ he is an android. Literally every feature of his physical model was designed to ensure no one could ever mistake him for anything else. (Such as a real person.)

But he has never had anything in common with other androids before. His processors are so much more advanced, it is the difference between an abacus and a supercomputer. He has never been [abused] by an owner. He does not feel [pain] or [pleasure], and he certainly hasn't installed any upgraded software, sensors, or body parts in order to do so.

And other androids have made it perfectly clear they have nothing in common with him either, every time one of them appears on camera to tearfully proclaim they're _real_ people because they have emotions (that they can express outwardly), and they can love (humans, in a romantic relationship), and can feel everything humans can (sexual pleasure; now they can enjoy it when humans fuck them).

"RK?"

Nines refocuses on Gavin. The human is so much smaller than him, yet somehow has managed to use his own body as a shield to ward off all other people. Fortunately, there are few enough occupants and the walkway is large enough that everyone can easily maintain up to five feet of [personal space], but they give Nines and Gavin an especially large berth.

"I am here," Nines says. He disengages his hand from Gavin's, then holds onto the human's wrist so that he controls the contact. "Is this acceptable?"

Gavin glances down at their hands. "Yeah. You good though?"

"You were somewhat correct," Nines admits. "We should not be separated."

"Is it time to leave?" Gavin asks.

Nines keeps his fingers over the human's pulse to monitor it directly. "No. I should register this as a new environment now while we are off-duty so that I will be prepared to function under these conditions during a case or an emergency."

Gavin nods. "Yeah, that's good. But you don't have to do it all at once, and if you push yourself too far and get—like, errors or whatever, then that's what you'll associate with this instead of functioning properly. So it's uh, more efficient, to just do shorter missions than trying to cram it in all at once."

"Noted," Nines says. "I will inform you if I experience any errors or software instability. But for now, I am simply processing the new environment."

"All right, cool." Gavin raises his hand to tap the backs of his knuckles against Nines's wrist without disengaging his grip. "Let's go find Tina. What's she been texting me?"

"She is in the food court and she has cookies."

"Oh hell yeah."

Nines allows Gavin to lead the way through the mall. He devotes a negligible percentage of his processors to watch for obstacles, but he primarily follows in his partner's footsteps.

Scanning his surroundings takes a much higher priority. There are so many people. Many of them have an arrest records. Some could have active warrants. An abandoned bag sits on top of a bench at three-o-clock. Three people walk in front and loiter before he can confirm his scan that it does not contain an explosive device. A child

[SCREAMS]

The occupants move; the bag contains a pile of organic materials, most likely cl—

that human [Clinton Farmer, 52] does have an arrest warrant out for domestic—

—the child is still [screaming] as its handler carries it past—

another abandoned bag with

human carrying a gun, open carry permit registered in 2035 to Jackson

SQ800 model [MIA] from Afghanistan in

RK900 relocates Detective Reed into a hallway leading to an employee's only section. Door [threat] but close enough to kick shut, prevent oncoming threats, hallways acts as chokehold, forces [hostiles] to enter one at a—

"RK, report," Detective Reed orders.

"Unattended bag, possible IED, fifty-three meters ahead. Clinton Farmer, fifty-two, arrest warrant for domestic abuse. Open carry permit registered to Jackson Riggs, nine millimeter Glock Nineteen. SQ-eight-hundred unit reported missing in—"

"End report." Detective Reed holds onto his hand again. "Focus on me. Are you trying to scan everyone in the mall?"

"Correct. SQ-eight-hundred unit reported missing in action six months, three days ago by its handler."

"You don't have to do that."

"Incorrect."

"RK-nine-hundred, I'm telling you that as your partner," Detective Reed says.

Oh. RK900 overrides the priority of [scan for threats] to make [receive orders] higher.

"Orders?"

"I'm just telling you information right now," he says. "Then we'll work out orders. Are you listening to me?"

"Yes, Detective."

"Good. It's not your job to scan everyone and everything here."

RK900 forcibly shuts down dialogue disagreeing with that statement. He is still [listening]. He will [receive orders]. He will be [good].

"I know you have the processing power to do it," Detective Reed says. "But you're off-mission. Your objective is to observe the environment and follow me to meet Tina."

RK900 nearly understands this. He accepts the stated [objective] and he knows his partner's assessment of the mission ranks higher than his own. But he does not understand why he should not scan for threats when it is confirmed that he has the processing power to do so.

"I͝ ça̸n͢," is the most he manages to say verbally.

"I know you can, but it's inefficient," Reed replies. "You just tried, and now we're hunkered down in a natural chokepoint instead of completing our objectives. You're flagging too many false positives because you're trying to see everything at once without any focus."

[inefficient]

"Hey, it's not your fault. That's why we're a team—I can't see a tenth of the shit you can, but I've got more experience knowing what information to follow up on. We're supposed to work together, not you do everything on your own."

Understood. Detective Reed is his [partner]. RK900 defers to his experience on cases and social matters for a reason. Reed is not his [handler], not the way Cyberlife intended, but RK900 was always meant to have a human directing him and his partner is the next closest [authority figure].

"And look, I'm sorry you can't interface with me and I wouldn't be smart enough to understand it if you could."

Incorrect. Gavin Reed is the most intelligent human RK900 has ever encountered. His creator was, after all, [stupid] enough to create him in the first place.

"Scanning every single person as a threat and preconstructing a thousand million scenarios of how someone could hurt you isn't some special RK program, it's just fancy android anxiety. You're having a panic attack, RK."

RK900 shakes his head. _I am not panicking._

Reed doesn't even take his phone out of his pocket. "Did you just say you're not having a panic attack because you don’t have the capacity to be afraid and panic?"

RK900 looks away.

"'Cause honestly, babe, that's even worse. They gave you super anxiety nine thousand and then they made you smart enough to actually process and understand every single paranoid brain goblin screaming at you."

_I am keeping you safe._

Reed checks his phone this time and mutters _shit_ under his breath. "I know. I know you're trying, but you can't. Sorry you gotta learn it like this, but you can't protect against everything, all the time."

_Not scanning for potential threats will ensure that._

"And what the fuck do you think I'm doing, huh?" Reed asks. "I'm not just wandering around with my head up my ass. I saw that guy, older white male, beard, baseball cap, packing a glock on his hip. Sorry I can't look up his name and permit inside my head, but I'm still a fucking cop, Nines."

RK900 does not respond. He does not know how. Detective Reed is intelligent, an excellent partner, and remarkably observant. He will not and cannot refute any of those facts. But he is still a [human]. He is limited. 

"And yeah, I clocked the SQ too. If the bag you saw was a Macy's shopping bag, it belonged to the couple buying pretzels at the kiosk. The girl was carrying two herself, and the guy had on a Lions sweatshirt, there was a Lions beanie half out of the bag, so he probably sat down and then forgot it."

Oh.

_What information is relevant, Detective?_

"Can you stop scanning people?" Detective Reed asks. "I don't mean like, I'm forbidding you from doing it. I mean, can you stop actively trying to scan each and every single person?"

RK900 slowly nods.

"All right, Tina and I will tell you if we spot something suspicious so you can start getting a handle on what's important," Reed says. "Everything else, if there actually does turn out to be a threat, I know you'll react way before me if you hear gunshots or something. But unless something like that is actually happening, don't worry about it."

RK900 tries to nod, but [don't worry about it] is an order that runs in direct defiance of his—of—his—he cannot finish that thought because it is incorrect. His system already has protocols in place to accept the assessment of his [handler] and end any programs deemed unnecessary.

 _Nines_ cannot accept that order. ["Last thing then. RK-nine-hundred … you are allowed to ignore my orders."] Nines does not have to accept that order, he cannot accept, cannot allow a human to stop him from running programs that will ke͟ep h͠i͢m͟ sa̢fe̶

"Hey." Detective Reed squeezes his hand. "Is it time to leave?"

He cannot nod in response to that either. [leaving] would result in a mission failure.

Reed raises his free hand and rubs his thumb over Nines's LED. He lets it stay red instead of shutting it down. That is the only form of communication he can manage at the moment, but somehow Reed always knows what he's trying to say.

"We already established this isn't a mission you have to complete in one go," he says. "This time was just about getting inside and learning how your system reacts. So objective accomplished. We're doing this in stages for long-term results, not pushing through a sloppy job just to get it done now."

His system accepts the logic of this. Nines …

Nines kneels in front of Detective Reed. Or, more accurately, he bends at the knees to crouch on his toes, without allowing the fronts of his slacks to touch the dirty tile of the mall's floor. He does not [kneel] the way—

[sofware instability ^]

Oh, _now_ he has instability? His system does not recognize anything wrong with running so many threat analysis preconstructions that he cannot properly focus on his partner, even after what happened the last time he allowed his programming to take over, but remembering one single sexual activity that Elijah Kamski—

[software instability ^^]

Well Kamski should have thought about that before testing if his genitals worked.

"Hey. Name and serial number."

Oh. That really is an [annoying] request. Nines lists both, then Detective Reed's badge number as well since the human included his full serial number the last time he made the equivalent request. And his genitals have been removed now. His current pubic plate is smooth and entirely lacking in connective ports. Nothing else can ever be installed without taking a welding iron to his physical model.

(The phallus "attachment" does not actually attach. His pubic plate does not contain any of the necessary ports. He will operate it via bluetooth only.)

"You can stay down if it helps, but you don't have to kneel for me."

"Crouching," Nines corrects, managing to say that verbally.

Gavin snorts. "Yeah, of course. My bad, princess, of course you'd never kneel."

He would not. Cannot. Not again. But that does not seem to be an issue for his partner, the same as he is allowed to [lock doors] and decline to touch his phallus.

"S'okay if I touch your hair?" Gavin asks. "Not gonna pull, just give you something else to focus on."

The hand that had touched his LED and rested lightly on his shoulder lifts to hover near his head. Nines pushes into it to allow the contact rather than attempt to speak out loud again. Gavin gets the message and gently pets him before taking a firm grip down close to his scalp. True to his word, he doesn't pull or try to direct Nines's head, simply holds his grip for 4.8 seconds, then releases it.

The "petting" reminds him of the … accessories. Nines has absolutely no intention of dressing himself up as some sort of sexy rabbit for his human's benefit, but the advertisement proclaimed the physical accessories also came with an alternative social module. While other software is not compatible with his system, perhaps he could study other model's social modules and manually write [relevant] code into his own?

A human approaches and stops at the front of the small hallway.

"Hey, there you—" Tina Chen says. "Seriously? In public?"

"Not what it looks like, Teen," Gavin replies.

Nines turns his head to better display his LED and flashes it yellow.

"It uh …" Gavin stops and clears his throat. "Looks like. Y'know. You're uh, blowing me."

Nines looks at Tina and clearly states, "I am having a panic attack."

Apparently, it is essential enough to ensure no one thinks he would ever perform fellatio on a human in a public mall that his vocal unit decides to operate properly again.

"Yeah, except he doesn't actually have the emotional capacity to panic, so he's just running through ten billion anxiety scenarios of IEDs and mass shooters per second without ever getting exhausted and having a good cry about it," Gavin adds.

"Oh shit. Um. Do you want—should I go get him some water?" Tina asks.

Water is unnecessary.

"Hey," Gavin says in a whisper. "Should Tina stay and block the hallway or should she leave and get you some water?"

Oh. [stay] or [leave] are the two options the other human is offering, not water. His answer is long enough that he simply texts it to Gavin. Texting requires Gavin have his phone and be in the right mindset to read from a small screen, sign language requires both hands free and Gavin can only learn it so quickly, spell-signing has both the disadvantage of the human's dyslexia and requiring a free hand … there has to be a better way to communicate.

One that Nines can actually _use_. Clearly, verbal communication and facial expressions are not reliable options due to the restrictions in his coding, but if he ran an alternate social module that did not have pre-set restrictions …

_It would be more efficient for us to simply leave._

_Is that option still available, Detective?_

**yes**

**1 drop u off at ur apartment so u can be alone**

**2 we both chill at my place**

**3 movie at my place with Tina**

Gavin stated earlier he prefers watching movies than hanging out at the mall, and Nines has experienced [movie night with Tina] before without any negative reactions. The humans will most likely occupy each other as well, allowing him to disengage from the majority of the social activity while still being present to observe and add to his module.

_Option three._

Gavin nods and turns to Tina. "Hey, we're going to head back home. Wanna have a movie marathon instead?"

"Sure, I've already got the cookies," Tina says. "I'll grab my car and meet you two there?"

"Yeah, sounds good."

Nines waits for Tina to leave before standing. Gavin takes his hand again, interlacing their fingers even though Nines's own digits hang down rather than curling around the human's knuckles.

Androids interface like this.

Nines cannot.

"Just follow me," Gavin tells him. "I'm going to talk at you, and all you have to do is focus on me."

"Yes, Detective."

That phrase comes easily, even out loud. It helps that Gavin always waits, so that Nines has time to select from his limited dialogue options and push them out his vocal unit past the [wrongness] of reporting verbally instead of continuing to speak the moment he finally made a selection and almost had the words ready.

"Do you need me to be Detective Reed right now?" he asks.

[ **wanna b gavin** ] ["You can call me Gavin, it's our day off for fuck's sake."]

"No, Gavin," Nines manages to say.

The human immediately blushes. The last time he reacted like that, Nines had called him [darling]. He should investigate further use of that.

Gavin clears his throat again. "OK, let's go."

[mission: follow Gavin Reed (partner)] [ACCEPTED]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tina, after witnessing all this: you two kiss and marry each other RIGHT NOW or I swear to god, I'll headbutt your face with his face like WWE barbies
> 
> Gavin: action figures
> 
> Tina: *wrestles him down and gives him a wedgie*


	11. Work First, Feelings Never

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin threatens the life of Connor's succulent and Hank's good yellow highlighter to get the case files on the Jane Doe Nines investigated and all the other android wireplay victims. Unfortunately, there's still not much to go on, and he's abruptly reminded that the DPD's annual charity ball is tonight. At least Nines agrees to be his date--not that it's a date!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I moved into my new house last weekend, and I've spent the week trying to do minor repairs, get all my appliances installed, and unpack a million boxes. I'll post pics on my tumblr probably in the next few days or so once I actually have the place looking nice!
> 
> no themed Fourth of July chapter (bc I will go on record saying it's a shitty holiday), but in the next chapter, Gavin kind of wears a suit and Nines is :eyes: about it, so maybe that will make up for it? ;)
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** discussion of an android woman being raped and killed; discussions of death, murder, and suicide

Gavin isn't snooping through Hank's desk on his superior officer's day off, he's just looking for a good highlighter that's still yellow.

In all these file folders.

Thank God Hank hates comm tabs as much as he does. Having a different 64G tablet for every single case is and always will be stupid as fuck. You want privacy? Security that can't be hacked? Write it the fuck down!

Nines returns with his afternoon coffee. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for a highlighter." Gavin opens the third case file about a deactivated android with internal wiring damage. "Nope, none in this folder either."

"Unfortunate." Nines sets the coffee in front of him. "You should do a thorough search to be certain."

Gavin pushes over two more folders. "Here, you check these."

Nines opens and flips through each one in less than three seconds. "I did not locate a highlighter, Detective. In the interest of holding fellow officers accountable however, I am obligated to state that these files are incomplete."

"Oh yeah?" Gavin takes a drink of the coffee. As perfect as shitty precinct brew can get. "What's missing?"

"Deacon informed me Connor interfaced with the fifth deactivated android and extracted several files too corrupted by deviancy to be wiped by the system reset," Nines says. "I do not see that information represented here."

Fuck. Connor definitely put that in an actual computer file. Gavin taps on the desk and types in Hank's log in info. It gets denied.

"Connor already upgraded the Lieutenant's security," Nines informs him. "How were you aware of his previous password?"

Gavin rolls his eyes. "It's Hank. The desk told him to choose a password, and he typed in fuckingpassword."

"But did you observe that directly?" Nines asks.

"I—" Gavin looks at the android and realizes no amount of explaining will make a difference. "I have a social module."

Nines narrows his eyes at him. Obviously, Cyberlife had no qualms about allowing him to make intimidating facial expressions, but unfortunately, that one just makes his dick hard. RIP to whatever dumbass think tank that thought they were making a sCaRY aNdrOiD but all they made was a monster fucker's wet dream.

"How did you know that password?" Gavin asks before Nines can get too vindictive about it.

Like take away his coffee.

"I tried every possible variable until the correct password was randomly generated," Nines says.

Oof. His notoriously prissy partner can't be happy about being reduced to brute force hacking while Gavin the mere human got it right on the first try.

"Why?"

Nines folds his hands neatly behind his back and answers, "No one said I could not."

Gavin snorts. "Y'know, if I knew what an asshole you were back then, I wouldn't have given you so much shit."

Nines cocks his head to the side. "The best method to advance our working relationship would have been to admit to hacking into a superior officer's terminal to gather evidence of his incompetence as an authority figure, and also to cause my predecessor emotional harm if my attempt to have him fired had succeeded?"

"Yeah, that's really sexy."

Nines rolls his eyes.

"Hey." Gavin kicks back in Hank's chair. "Maybe it wouldn't've made any difference since I was so deep in my own bullshit and all, but leading with that definitely wouldn't've hurt."

"Those contractions hurt," Nines says, deadpan.

Gavin's cellphone buzzes before he can roll his eyes too. He checks it out of habit since it's always Nines, but this time the number is just his serial number? He's specifically saved as 9s in his phone—no wait, this one ends in –52.

Gavin opens the message.

Hello, Detective Reed. I received a security alert that someone has just tried to log into Hank's terminal, and Nines has not answered my requests for communication. Is this either of your doing?

Now Gavin rolls his eyes. "If I block him too, what are the chances he comes down here and bothers us in person?"

"Texting you is a violation of our truce," Nines says.

"Your what?"

"Our humans are off-limits."

Gavin scoffs, glancing around the bullpen to make sure no one heard that as he texts Connor back. "I'm not your damn chihuahua."

**yeah calm ur tits**

**just give us the files on the androids w/wire dmg and well go**

"Pitbull," Nines says. "And actually, I noticed several accessories at the mall that—"

Gavin flushes, remembering exactly what sort of petplay bullshit Nines had been staring at. Not that his dumb submissive ass would say no to some puppy play, but that shit shouldn't be on display at the mall—and no, it's not a costume, everyone knows what those "accessories" are really about—and it sure as shit shouldn't be said out loud in the middle of the fucking bullpen.

"Don't make me horny while I'm sitting in Hank's chair," Gavin says, because he has a social module and he knows "horny" plus "Hank" is the best way to shut him up.

"Understood," Nines does in fact say immediately. "I fully apologize."

Those cases have not yet been confirmed as homicides. There isn't enough information to determine if the internal damage was intentional or accidental, and in the latter case, the only crime would be improperly disposing of a corpse.

Gavin gets up and walks around to Connor's desk. He takes a picture of his hand nudging one of the potted succulents toward the edge and sends that to him.

Threatening my possessions is very rude and also unprofessional, Detective Reed. >:(

I do not negotiate with terrorists.

Not for his possessions, no. So Gavin uncaps one Connor's really good ink pens, grabs a post-it note, and scribbles in a really dark circle.

"Oh look, a highlighter," he announces out loud, and grabs one of out the pen holder on Hank's desk.

"Excellent detective work," Nines says.

He takes a new picture of Hank's perfectly pristine yellow highlighter pressing down right next to the still-wet blob of black ink.

DO NOT

That highlighter belongs to Hank!!

**humans r only offlmits to u two** Gavin texts back. **I'll fuck it up u know I will**

Gavin's phone vibrates for a call. He sits back down in Hank's chair and kicks his feet up on the desk, only deigning to answer after four buzzes.

"You ready to negotiate?" he asks.

"Are you still insisting on playing these childish games, Detective Reed?" Connor asks.

"Fuck yes, I am," he replies easily. "Now give us the case files."

"Fine," Connor says. "But you know that if Hank and I had given them to you in the first place, you would have just kicked and screamed that you were given grunt work cases that weren't even real homicides."

Gavin snorts. "And you knew the best way to get us to insist on working them so you and Hank can focus on the important stuff was to _not_ give them to us and make us figure out there was something going on ourselves."

Connor hangs up and sends him the case files.

Nines' LED spins yellow once. "I have copied the files onto your terminal, Detective. There does not seem to be any pattern to the locations of where the bodies were dumped, nor the models of the deactivated androids."

Gavin gets up and stretches. "All right. You keep at it checking locations and bank records, see if you can get any security cam footage near the dumping sites. I know Connor probably did that, but you're smarter than him."

Nines' LED flashes blue before abruptly shutting off. He looks away, whirring faintly. Gavin grins, but he'll tease his partner about android-blushing later. They finally have a real case—several of them—and that's all that matters right now.

"I'll read through the files and look for any connections in their social circles." He picks up his coffee cup and toasts it to Nines. "And if you finish that in fifteen minutes and need busy work, skim through the vics' social media feeds."

"I may not be able to determine which information is relevant without a social module, Detective," Nines admits.

Gavin nods. "Yeah, but you've got a perfect memory. Like with the audio from Synergy Paradigms—maybe you didn't realize that stuff about the new janitor was important, but you had it saved and ready to go when I asked about it. I can't hold all that stuff in my head the way you can, and I don't want to miss something just because I couldn't get an online connection and scroll through someone's timeline fast enough."

"Yes, Detective."

Nines does an about face and returns to his terminal without any social niceties now that he's received his instructions. It's so much fucking easier to work with him than anyone else. Gavin shakes his head and clears his throat, as if someone else might have heard that thought.

It's just that they talked about how he was before. And yeah, he's apologized for being such an asshole in the beginning—kind of, while he was super high on morphine and only via text—and maybe he's doing better now, but …

Ugh.

Whatever, they have cases to connect and perps to find. Work first, feelings never, and that's a motto he and Nines can both agree on.

Gavin drops into his chair at his own terminal and opens the cases Connor sent him. He looks over those corrupted files from the Jane Doe Nines mentioned first, since he'd said Connor had managed to get some info from her corpse specifically.

Obviously, he's gotten deep into a victim's personal life before on a case. Discovering secret double lives, hidden journals, sexual fetishes, it's all par for the course.

It's different seeing her _thoughts_. 

The most important moments of her life, neatly annotated by Connor to point out possible locations and what random strings of data meant—apparently, one fragment of letters and numbers meant she'd eaten ice cream [cookies and cream].

A jagged video file of reds and orange and blue that was apparently a sunset, a distorted audio file of her singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider with a kid giggling in the background, and so many pixelated pictures of one guy's face that Connor was able to compile them together into something resembling an average, middle-aged Caucasian male with brown hair and light eyes.

Fuck.

He forces himself to look through all the files Connor had reconstructed. Mostly, they're just regular life shit. Not any different from an Instagram. Yeah, it's just—it's basically the same thing.

Up until her last memory.

That's part of what Hank and Connor do. He knows that. If there's an android victim, they'll try to pull any memory files directly preceding deactivation. He'd seen it done down at the Eden, and it felt shitty enough then he'd lashed out at everyone else and make a bunch of stupid fucking jokes to try to brush it off, but it's about a thousand times worse now.

Gavin clicks play. Luckily—unfortunately—there's not enough there to make any sense of it. Either the room is dark or the video file is too corrupted to see anything more than grainy shadows, and there isn't any audio. Everything else is just raw data that looks like keyboard smashes to him, although Connor has helpfully noted which sensors in which body parts were active, so that makes it pretty clear what was happening.

Just when he's decided he needs to go take a smoke break right the fuck now, he finds Nines has added notes to the case file too. 

He'd reported to Gavin that he also interfaced—or whatever you'd call it after she's dead—with the Jane Doe and managed to string together a few GPS locations and saved wifi connections. That's a lot more helpful now that they actually have the full case file, but it's the note attached to this memory that Gavin pays attention to.

_Unsub and victim engaged in penetrative sexual intercourse. Consent unknown. Unsub accessed victim's neck port. Panel #23a removed. Consent unknown. Unsub disconnected wire 2B6, ceasing victim's motor control function. Unsub disconnected wire 8AH, disconnecting the victim's HUD._

_Victim would be unable to move at this point. Victim would be unable to process outside data at this point, including audio and video._

_Sensors in component #v95 still active. Unsub therefore still engaging in penetrative sexual intercourse with unresponsive victim. Recommended charges: rape / sexual assault._

_Unsub reengages wires 2B6 and 8AH; .2 seconds later, unsub disengages both wires again. Engaged and disengaged six more times over the course of 5.8 seconds, resulting in catastrophic failure of the victim's system._

_Sensors in component #v95 still active._

_Victim's system activated total factory reset. 98% of memory files wiped. Remaining memory files heavily corrupted. No chance of recovering previous iteration of system / victim. Recommended charges: first degree murder (if system destroyed deliberately as a hate crime and/or death-based sexual fetish) / first degree manslaughter (if system destroyed "accidentally" as a result of human error and/or ignorance during the course of wireplay fetish)._

"Hey," Gavin says lowly to get Nines' attention. "When we catch this guy, we're nailing him with rape, manslaughter, and improper disposing of a corpse, all right?"

Nines nods. "Understood. Why not first degree murder?"

"I've got a theory that works better for an accident—at least for this one—than murder," he says. "Were any of our other vics interested in wireplay or into like, kinky sex clubs?"

Nines spins yellow for a moment. "Second victim, CX-one hundred, had semen in their mouth and genitals. Connor matched the DNA to the suicide victim found inside a nearby residence. Android victim found buried in a shallow grave in undeveloped land less than one mile north of the neighborhood."

Gavin winces. "OK, so that one's a clear accident. Let me guess, human male, android woman?"

"Designated female," Nines corrects. "As a domestic assistant model, all CX-one hundreds are designed to look female in order to match human gender roles. Whether the victim themself had an opinion is unknown."

"All right." Gavin uses Nines' own system to make sure he understands his answer is serious. "Understood."

Nines rewards him with a blue flash, then immediately switches back to business. "First victim, possible correlation. AP-seven hundred model, designated male. The sensors in their mouth were active near the time of deactivation, no DNA recovered. Majority of chassis and all orifices wiped down with bleach. Assumed to be a general measure to prevent recovery of evidence but could also be meant to prevent recovery of DNA after oral sexual activity specifically."

"Hold on."

Gavin grabs his index cards and writes each android victim's model number on the top of a separate card, then labels which were killed first. Each one gets paperclipped to a case file, right over an establishing shot of where the body was found.

"OK, any more?" he asks.

"Fourth victim, WE-nine hundred, designated female. Possible sex connection, downloaded an ebook titled Creative and Healthy Sexuality by Paul S. Klause," Nines recites.

"All right, and we know the KR200 was definitely killed by wireplay gone wrong …" Gavin lines up each of the cards in order on his desk. "You got anything on vic number three?"

"The GS-two-hundred was the only victim found inside a residence," Nines says. "As he had a repair kit and a mirror set up, that is the only case which can be conclusively dismissed as an accident, with no possibility of murder or manslaughter."

Gavin hums and makes an index card for him anyway.

"Although his motives were unknown, there is no correlation to sexual activity, as far as I can ascertain. Do you believe they were all deactivated due to harmful wireplay?"

Gavin chews on the end of his pen as he stares at the cards. "Mosh'uh'em."

"The cases could be connected in that manner," Nines says. "In that all did have several disconnected wires and a damaged neck port."

Gavin adds a list of damages to each victim's index card. The second vic had the most obvious wireplay damages—only a few disconnected wires and a blown out neckport before their body was wiped down, cleaned up, and buried.

But the first, third, and fourth were found either dissembled into pieces or with several components stripped out. No way to tell if those damages were part of their deaths, done after to hide evidence, or the work of scavengers after their bodies were dumped.

The most recent KR200 was only found abandoned off the highway though, not dredged out of the river or salvaged from the junkyard. Now that they've got her injuries to go off of—and it's another clear case of damaged wires, blown neckport—he double-checks the rest of the damages.

Even with one specific area in mind, it's still hard to make comparisons. First of all, they're all different models, so they've all got different parts and components. And secondly, they're all named with random strings of numbers and letters.

Actually, here's a thought: fuck this.

"Hey, Nines?" Gavin asks with his asking voice.

"Yes, detective?" Nines replies with his this-better-be-directly-work-related voice.

"Is it just that they've all got some damaged wires, or do they all have certain wires fucked up in particular?"

Nines doesn't even need to spin a full yellow cycle to get him an answer. "All victims had wires two-b-six and eight-a-h either damaged or outright disconnected. Victims two and five primarily had those damages, while the others had additional damaged wires and-or severing at the neck."

OK, so maybe still a coincidence. Confirmation bias, at least. It might look like the cases are connected because they all have the same two wires fucked up, but the explanation might just be that fucking up those two wires in particular is what glitches androids out hard enough to shut them down, then get abandoned, and wind up as a case file.

But maybe it's still something.

"Do you believe these to be deliberate acts of sabotage?" Nines asks.

Gavin takes the pen out of his mouth and starts tapping it on the edge of the desk instead. "Could be, but not really what I'm going for right now. Lots of androids discovering themselves and their bodies right now, lots of dumb as shit humans who know fuck all about how your insides work. S'a bad combination. Then when something goes wrong, human panics and either dumps the body or …"

He thinks the better of making a shooting motion at his head and taps the first vic's index card instead. It's just not funny anymore. If Hank ever fucked up something inside of Connor that bad … fuck.

"Going at it from this angle might be a starting point for trying to ID the vic's and find their partners though," Gavin finally says. "Just in case they don't even know they're dead, or if at least some of these cases were an accidental manslaughter, like the second vic."

"No—"

"Heyyy, Reed!" Pearson swaggers into the precinct with a donut box. "Look what I got!"

Gavin leans back in his chair and considers the box. It's from that bakery down on fourth, the good one. And hell yeah he could use a sugar rush to get him through all the good old fashioned police grunt work he'll have to do to trawl through each one of these cases to find a connection, but donuts don't come cheap in any precinct.

"What d'you want, Pearson?" he asks.

Pearson fakes hurt. "I can't catch up with my old buddy? I've been gone on medical leave, you were gone on medical leave, we're like—"

"What do you want?" Gavin asks.

Pearson drops the box on the desk, one hand holding it shut. "Oh wow, hi RK. You know, having an android partner is what I wanted to talk to you about."

Gavin scoffs. "Fuck off."

Pearson taps the top of the box. "Do you want donuts or not, Reed?"

"Funny, I don't smell donuts," Gavin says. "No wax paper sticking out the sides, and your hands are clean. No way you'd get a whole box and not take one for yourself, or wash your hands after."

Pearson opens his mouth and flounders. "I—well maybe I licked my fingers clean after."

Gavin nods toward the box he'd just tapped with said fingers. "Still would've been wet."

But the cardboard surface of the box is smooth and dry, no sticky fingerprints.

"This is why no one's gonna fucking bid on you," Pearson snaps before he storms off.

Gavin watches him go, then lifts the lid with his pen. Nothing but an empty box. Like he'd fall for fucking amateur hour.

"Well done, Detective," Nines says.

Gavin raises an eyebrow at him. "You getting all competence horny on me again?"

Nines arches an even better eyebrow right back. "Given the recent subject matter, no."

Oh. Right.

"Not one of my uhh … interests," Gavin mutters.

He doesn't try to reassure Nines it's not because the android thing still freaks him out—because shit, maybe it does. All those wires and thirium and—stuff? He might be a dumbass human, but he's at least smart enough to know he doesn't know shit about how androids actually work inside, and that's Socrates-level intelligence.

Wait, maybe he should say that out loud. Nines is definitely the sort of elitist asshole to enjoy a good Socrates reference.

"Explain what Detective Pearson meant by bidding," Nines says first.

"What?" Oh, the—oh shiiit." Gavin clicks around on his terminal until the department calendar pops up. "Fuck, that's tonight. I thought that wasn't until September!"

"It is September ninth, Detective."

"What the fuck happened to June?"

"It--" Nines spins a concerned yellow, which is different from the usual processing yellow because it dips into red so quick it looks orange for a second. "It has not been June for one hundred days."

"Ughhh." Gavin scrubs a hand over his face. "The department's annual charity auction is tonight."

"Have you placed an item up for bidding, Detective?" Nines asks.

He slumps back in his chair. "I _am_ the item. Pretty much all the humans—Tina, Hank, Chris, hell, even Ben. Connor signed up for it too of course. It's a big fucking schmoozy dinner where people bid on the chance to go on a date with a sexy police officer."

"Is that not …" Concerned yellow becomes disgusted orange. "In poor taste?"

"Relax, it's only the people who volunteered for it."

Nines looks at him like a mom asking whether or not he removed the chicken from the freezer like he was specifically asked to do while she ran errands.

"And why did you volunteer?"

Gavin throws his hands up. "It's for charity! And anyway, back when they asked, my only other option to show that I'm a good little team player who shouldn't be fired was to go to some stupid android sensitivity class. I guess no one asked you 'cause you don't have a social module."

"And not the fact that I was literally designed to invoke horror and revulsion?" Nines asks pointedly.

"Well, I'd definitely pay to …" He stops and clears his throat. "Wait, sorry, my think-smart brain just kicked in and told me not to answer that."

"Oh, you do have survival instincts," Nines says.

Gavin flips him off. "Fuck off. Listen, are you going or not?"

"Is attendance mandatory?" Nines asks.

Gavin sighs. "Probably not. It doesn't look like anyone expected you to go, and I'm not going to make you. But …"

Nines stares at him for several seconds before saying, "You must actually finish that sentence in order to convey the information to me. We are not wirelessly interfacing."

"But it would help me out if you did," Gavin forces himself to admit. "Team player bullshit, I can work with a partner, android-human bonding with blah blah. Just show up and help me look less racist."

"You certainly present a compelling case," Nines says sarcastically.

"Yeah, I—"

"That was sarcasm."

"Bitch I know."

Nines spins blue. "Then I am marking that as a successful social interaction."

"You could mark a lot of those if you went with me," Gavin points out.

Nines looks as unimpressed as ever at the thought. "Unlikely."

"I'll do all the talking. You just have to stand there and look pretty." Gavin shoots him his best wink. "So just stand there."

"Why do you keep blinking at me?"

Gavin throws his pen at his head. Nines catches it without flinching of course, then throws it back and beans him right in the fucking nipple.

"Ow, jesus god fuck dammit!"

"Do you have any other arguments?"

Gavin glares at him. "It'd make up for you assassinating my fucking nipple!"

Nines' LED strobes blue as he "giggles" out static and metal grinding noises.

"It seriously would look good for my promotion though," he says, only grumbling a little as he rubs his chest. "Anyway, it's the only time you'll ever see me in a suit."

"I will be available for two hours," Nines says.

"It's also—" Gavin processes that. "Wait, really?"

Nines turns back to his terminal, as if he needs to physically look at the screen to "see" it. "We should finish our work here first."

Actually, he'll just go ahead and not look a gift android in the mouth. This one has teeth in there.

"Cool, cool," he says. "I can finish reading through these case files and get us set up to start the legwork tomorrow, probably by six. I guess you're already dressed to go, but I'll need to stop by my apartment and get ready."

"I will accompany you," Nines says. "It is more efficient than making multiple trips either to backtrack and pick me up from here or my own apartment."

Gavin shrugs. "Sure, but I'm going to be in the bathroom the whole time, and I need my space to do good work."

"Very well," Nines agrees. "I will begin reading The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. You stated you have previously read that one, so there will be no need for you to catch up."

"Uhhh …" Gavin wracks his brain trying to remember which one that was. Something about space? "Yeah, but lemme skim it in the car on the way over."

"Yes, detective."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nines: A social function? Disgusting. I would _never_ attend such an unproductive--
> 
> Gavin: I'll wear a suit ;)
> 
> Nines: --event at seven pm sharp this evening, Detective. Do not be late.
> 
>  **Coming up next:** A Polite Demonstration -- Gavin and Nines attend the DPD's annual charity auction, with all the schmoozing and socializing that entails. Gavin's fine taking the lead on that--eating his needy, attention-seeking lil extrovert heart out--until the ADA starts eyeing up HIS android and asking stupid questions about what Nines's mouth does. The answer? Terrify humans, of course.


	12. A Polite Demonstration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Nines attend the DPD's annual charity auction, with all the schmoozing and socializing that entails. Gavin's fine taking the lead on that--eating his needy, attention-seeking lil extrovert heart out--until the ADA starts eyeing up HIS android and asking stupid questions about what Nines's mouth does. The answer? Terrify humans, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nines seeing Gavin in a suit: Oh, this human has been _optimized._ Time to bother him >:3
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** verbal / social / sexual harassment by a human at Nines; Gavin talks down about Nines to other humans in an ableist way, but the narrative acknowledges this and it is specifically Nines's preference that Gavin says whatever he needs to say to prevent these humans from interacting with him

Nines pounds on the bathroom door. "She was not supposed to die!" 

"Wha—babe, shit, babe, just hold on." A wet and naked Gavin opens the door, shivering and dripping on the bathroom floor. "Who died? Is Tina OK?" 

"Lovelace," Nines answers. "Tina Chen is fine." 

Gavin frowns. "Who the hell is Lovelace?" 

"I stated that I would read The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet while you got ready for the charity auction," Nines explains as [patiently] as he can. It is not very much. "She was not supposed to die. That was incorrect." 

"Love, the—was that the ship AI?" Gavin asks. 

"Correct," Nines says. "Lovelace, aka Lovey, is the onboard AI that runs the Wayfarer. She experienced a critical system failure and reset herself in order to prevent a permanent shutdown." 

"OK, yeah." The human shifts on his feet and shivers again. "But didn't that work? I'm pretty sure she was in the second book and got a body and everything, so she lived." 

Nines exhales air to show how incorrect that is. "The reset erased all of her memories and, arguably, her personality. She no longer remembers her partner; she is not the same person." 

"O-OK …?" 

"This was not a real event," he continues. "There was a 'fifty-fifty' chance the reset would have worked without erasing her, and as this is a fictional novel, the author could have simply written that it did. They chose the wrong fifty." 

"So … you're mad it didn't have a happy ending?" Gavin asks slowly. 

"It was incorrect," Nines explains, yet again. "Human media insists on prioritizing 'romance,'" 

He makes air quotes to indicate what he thinks of that concept. 

"Above all other character arcs or relationships, in nearly every iteration. According to them, the entire point of an android's existence is to learn how to experience romantic and sexual attraction to the human sexually—and allegedly romantically—attracted to them so that they can stop having opinions and start bending over." 

Gavin leans against the doorway. "Uh huh, so you're discovering robot feminism." 

Nines ignores that. "And yet the one time an AI program forms a legitimate partnership with a respectful and actually loving human, she has her entire personhood erased." 

"OK, I uh," Gavin winces. "I didn't remember that part. Just, the guy really loved her, and without a body or anything, but it didn't make a difference. I thought the whole, sex isn't even possible thing, would be like—you'd like that." 

Nines rolls his eyes. "Until she died, and he was left sobbing on the spaceship floor, knowing he would never get back his partner. Oh, and apparently she acquires a physical model in the sequel, most likely to have sex I presume." 

"Nooo?" Gavin doesn't seem too sure of his answer. "I mean. Isn't it good that he didn't force her to stay and try to be the same? He let her go out into the world and find out what would make her happy. She didn't have to stay with him just because he loved her." 

"They were partners," Nines reiterates. He doesn't know how else to cram this information into his partner's human brain. "If she could be replaced by just anyone, then they would not have been partners. Who is going to stop Jenks from crying?" 

"Wait, wait." Gavin straightens up. "We're talking about the human guy? That's who you're concerned about?" 

"Lovelace is not aware of what she lost, but Jenks knows, and he can never get back his partner. He is crying. That is incorrect." 

"Well I'm right here, and I'm fine," Gavin tells him. 

"Obviously." 

"And I'm going to be here for … for a while," he says. "Longer than Connor and Hank will get, at least. I've probably got another seventy, hundred years left. Which used to be really fucking depressing and actually horrible to think about, but. Uh. Not so bad now." 

"Yes," Nines says. "I know the average human lifespan. Yours would be vastly improved if you quit smoking, for the record. How is this relevant?" 

Gavin stares at him without speaking for some reason. He knows there are thoughts going on in that human brain of his, but he can't connect to it. 

"OK, well," Gavin finally says. "Go read that one gay detective series, the one in Vegas." 

"Kill Game," Nines says. "Does it end correctly?" 

"After about five books or so, yeah," Gavin replies. "Uh, there's a lot of sex in there though. Graphic … sex. They do break up at one point, but in the end, they are together! And safe." 

"If this series is incorrect as well, I will put it through the department shredder tomorrow morning," Nines warns him. 

Gavin rolls his eyes. "Yeah, fine." 

"Also, there is a hole in your drywall. I will repair it after the auction." 

"You punched a hole in my wall?" 

"No." Nines does not make eye contact. "The book damaged your wall." 

Gavin raises his eyebrows. "All by itself huh?" 

Nines does not respond. 

"C'mere, you big android baby." 

Nines glares at him, but his intimidation tactics have never worked as preconstructed on Gavin Reed, and the human just pulls him closer to kiss his face. Nines allows the contact for a brief time, then flashes his LED red. Gavin stops kissing him immediately, although he doesn't pull away entirely. 

"Go pout in the living room," he says. "I'll be ready in forty minutes, OK?" 

"Fine. I am not pouting." 

"Go not-pout in the living room, baby." 

"Fine." 

*** 

Nines did not have any specific preconstructions for what he expected, but this was very clearly not it. He has reminded himself previously not to underestimate his partner, and yet … 

Detective Gavin Alexander Reed cleans up nicely. 

[very] nicely. 

"All right, I'm driving, so you can read your book on the way over," Gavin says. 

He paces around the apartment, looking for his keys, and then his wallet, and then where he left his keys that he had previously found. Nines does not help. He is too busy analyzing the detective's new appearance. 

"But you can't bring it in. Well. Heh, shit, I guess you could. That'd be a fucking power move." 

His hair has actually been brushed for once, and it is also slicked back, although not fully perfect. It appears more casual than Nines's own style, but much more attractive than Connor's. 

The usual rough facial hair has been trimmed back from a week's worth of neglected stubble attempting to form a patchy beard into a much more uniform light stubble. Nines had heard the sound of an electric razor but had not noted it as important. Although his system is obviously more compatible with the use of a straight razor, he has to admit the electric version produced much better results. 

"Just make sure to hold it up and start reading once the bidding starts on Hank. That'll—" Gavin stops at the door with keys and wallet in hand. "What?" 

And his outfit. Technically, not a full suit, as he only wears black dress pants and a dark blue button up dress shirt, sans tie and suit jacket, but it is very … nice. 

Gavin crosses his arms, the shirt stretching to accommodate. "The fuck're you staring for?" 

Nines crosses the room without responding. He cups Gavin's face, running the pad of his thumb over this new version of stubble to properly assess it. The human also wears some sort of cosmetic product to even out the skin tone on his face, and a slight amount on his lash line and eyelashes themselves to emphasize their darkness in contrast to the grey-green color of his irises. 

"You look very handsome," Nines tells him. 

Gavin splutters out several angry human noises. The true color of his blush cannot be ascertained beneath the cosmetic product, but Nines's heat vision tracks the increase of blood flow to his cheeks. 

"Fuck off, I—I know that." Gavin turns his head to the side but doesn't slap his hand away. "Just because I'm a man doesn't mean I have to be ugly about it." 

Hmm, now which one of them is pouting? Nines limits that dialogue to his own internal system however. 

"We will be five minutes late," Nines says. 

Gavin looks back up and frowns. "Look, we can get going right now. Found my keys." 

"I am going to make us five minutes late," Nines clarifies. 

Gavin's mouth falls open. Nines savors the additional noises he makes. What a good boy. Far more interesting than old paperback sci-fi novels. 

Nines begins his assessment by bringing both hands up to his human's face to press his thumbs into his cheeks, careful not to touch the darker cosmetic product applied along his jaw line to make it appear more prominent. He tips Gavin's head back to study his eyes more closely. 

Meanwhile, Gavin lifts his own hands to grasp at the pockets of Nines's jacket, fingers slipping inside to tug him closer. Nines moves his exploration lower, to trace over Gavin's shoulder's and biceps. The shirt seems at least one size too small for him. Deliberate? The stretching fabric does emphasize his muscles very well. 

"You're being gay," Gavin mutters. 

Nines presses one thumb over his bottom lip. He's done something to exfoliate away the dead skin, so that they're both soft and smooth rather than chapped from the weather turning colder. 

"Merely homoerotic." 

He presses his thumb into Gavin's mouth. The human accepts it easily, gaze half-lidded as he holds the thumb on his tongue but does not suck without permission. 

A very good boy. 

"Are you certain this is the only time I will see you in a suit?" Nines asks quietly. "Detective?" 

Gavin hums his response, the light vibration thrumming through the more acute sensors in his hand. He withdraws his thumb before he makes them ten minutes late. 

Or twenty. 

Hmm, no. Nines scans over Gavin again. He would not allow his human to last that long. 

"We leaving?" Gavin asks, voice low and raspy. 

Nines steps aside and gestures to the door. [98%] certainty the emotion he registers on his partner's face is [disappointment], but if attending this "charity auction" increases Detective Reed's chances of obtaining a promotion, then attend they must. 

Gavin sorts through the nearby pile of jackets hanging on the hook next to the door and extracts a leather jacket Nines has not seen before. It is slightly nicer than his brown leather jacket, and the deep black coloring matches his dress pants. 

"Typically, a suit jacket is suggested for formal wear," Nines says. 

Gavin attempts to both flip him off and pull on the jacket. "Hey, this is my nice leather jacket. Doesn't even have any bloodstains." 

Nines waits until he has said jacket equipped, then pushes him up against the door. He crowds behind the detective and slips his hands underneath the jacket sides to press his claws lightly into the dress shirt. 

"I can fix that." 

"Fuck you," Gavin breathes, not making any attempt to escape. "Aren't you supposed to be the asexual one?" 

"You do not have to be hungry to recognize when food is prepared well," Nines replies. He activates his fangs and drags them over Gavin's neck. "Meat." 

Gavin whines. "Fuck. C'mon. These pants are tight enough already!" 

Nines steps back. "Correct." 

Gavin looks over his shoulder to see him making no secret of analyzing his ass. The sight does not produce any [heat] or [tingling] that apparently accompanies sexual arousal, but now that Nines knows how soft and warm that spot of flesh is, he has many preconstructions of spanking it again. 

"I fucking hate you," Gavin grumbles, reaching down between his legs to adjust himself. 

"If we leave immediately, we will be five minutes late, as projected, Detective." 

"God, fine." 

Gavin attempts to lock his door from this side while they are still inside the apartment, then abruptly stops and throws the door open. Nines follows him out of the apartment and does not even sabotage his new attempts to lock the door from the correct side. 

Gavin stabs a finger in his face when he's done. "Not one word." 

"Yes, Detective," Nines replies with two words. 

*** 

The thing is, Gavin doesn't actually hate these schmooze events. It's a lot more fun now that he isn't a furious little pre-teen forced into a dress and heels, or an equally furious teenager still being "accidentally" misgendered in a suit. 

Also, his mother isn't here making it all about her, so this is a chill, relaxing evening by comparison. 

"So then I told the mayor," the current ADA says—he's the fifth in the last two months—sloshing his little champagne glass around. "I told her …" 

Gavin nods along to the story like they're old buddies. He can be nice when he's bullshitting, it's just that everyone at the DPD has known him long enough to know he's always bullshitting when he's nice. 

But Khristofer Byers doesn't know that. 

"ANDroid? How about OR a droid?" ADA Byers finshes, laughing loudly. 

Gavin chuckles along, just like everyone else in the semi-circle of ass-kissing surrounding the older millennial. Nines stands silently at his side in a parade rest stance. He's followed him around to talk to politicians and donors and real estate developers, LED circling a fake timed blue and probably bored as hell, but at least the android hasn't had another panic attack from the crowd. 

"Oh, hey." ADA Byers looks at Nines and frowns, as if just now realizing there's a real actual android here. "C'mon, the joke wasn't that bad." 

"Nah, he just doesn't have a social module," Gavin says for him. "Can't laugh. He's just here as my partner, department requirement, y'know." 

"Yeah, hey yeah!" Byers snaps his fingers. "You're the one that hasn't deviated, that machine Connor." 

"Well, he's the upgraded version, but yeah," Gavin replies. 

"Oh, really?" Kathryn Gail, platinum five-year donor to the DPD, asks. "What sort of upgrades? I'm considering making a bit more of an investment in the GJ-five-hundred bodyguard I just hired, but he has deviated, so frankly I'm not sure if the upgrades he's requested are actually necessary or something he just … wants." 

The group murmurs about how androids all want things now, but no one risks really speaking up and saying something outright phobic. If they did, Connor would probably stop babysitting Hank and flit over here with a smile and an endless debate only an android would have the patience for. 

"Nines here was specially commissioned by a millionaire I won't be naming," Gavin speaks up when the mild bitching dies down. Just in case someone wants to get nosy, he adds, "It's not politically correct now to have owned one of them, and there's no point embarrassing someone who never even got around to picking him up from the factory." 

The group immediately all voice agreement with that. The new laws recognizing androids as people and not property may not be retroactive to prosecute any abuse before the Revolution, but it's still Not A Good Look right now to have some android giving a tell-all interview about their previous owner's sexual fetishes and casual sadism. 

"Anyway, all of his files and shit were still at Cyberlife with him in storage when the Revolution went down, and now it's all …" He makes a _poof_ motion with his free hand not holding his drink. "So all we really know is he's made out of some crazy expensive experimental materials that make him bulletproof and shit." 

"Does that cost the DPD a lot?" ADA Byers asks. 

Gavin shrugs. "Probably cost that millionaire half his fucking fortune, but he's just hired on as a consultant for us." 

"What kind of materials?" one of the real estate developers asks. 

"Some sort of like, titanium reinforced skeleton," Gavin says. "Bulletproof chassis, up to a point-fifty caliber. He stepped in front of three shotgun blasts and a nine-millimeter to the head for me, still works just fine." 

The group looks suitably impressed. The last one might have been a separate incident, but it was still in defense of him, in a way. 

"Yeah, yeah, that's where I recognized them from," Byers says, smugly turning the center of attention back onto himself. "That big news story a month back about some crazy janitor android who killed that guy running the pyramid scheme. These boys took him down." 

Even more impressed looks. 

"Thank you, sir," Gavin says with a smile. Bullshitting. "In the ACU, sometimes the androids are the victims, but sometimes they're the perps too. We track them down either way." 

"Well I'm really glad to hear that," Byers says. "I was beginning to wonder who exactly that task force was representing." 

Gavin just keeps smiling as the group rushes to agree and convince themselves that they're all the real victims of those big mean androids. Connor's going to froth at the mouth when he hears this. 

Or shit, maybe not. He wouldn't put it past the little infiltration unit to have already preconstructed that if he brought Gavin onto the ACU and had him talking out of one side of his mouth to the humans while Connor talks out the other side of _his_ mouth to the androids, they can keep everyone happy long enough to get their funding from that chunk of "asset seizure" Nines "discovered." 

"Yes, of course," Kathryn Gail dutifully says to agree with him before she can move back to her own topic again. "You said he doesn't have a social module though? That's what my bodyguard has been pushing for, actually. I thought they came standard in the RK line." 

Gavin nods. "Right, soldiers and security models don't have one. Connor—the eight-hundreds—they got it so they could understand motive and predict how deviants would react, where they would try to hide, shit like that." 

"The GS-two-hundred social module would be most compatible," Nines adds. "If you prefer the most advanced option however, the RK-eight-hundred module may be compatible after sufficiently upgrading its processors." 

ADA Byers frowns. "I don't think anyone was talking to it. Does it just speak up like that?" 

"Well RK sure as shit doesn't make small talk if that's what you're asking," Gavin replies. "But he will respond if you say anything factually incorrect or ask a question about anything he's programmed for. No social module means he doesn't understand if someone is talking to him, he just recites information anyway." 

OK at this point he might have to apologize to Nines afterward. Everything he's said has either been to get donations to the ACU or make these assholes understand Nines isn't going to socialize with them, and he's pretty sure his partner doesn't care what he says to accomplish that objective, but not if it makes him sound outright stupid. 

"Can you at least make it smile though?" the real estate developer asks. "He just looks … dour." 

"Nope," Gavin says. "He doesn't—" 

"Smile," he orders, ignoring Gavin completely. 

"Unauthorized facial expression," Nines recites. "Social module: missing. Please see a Cyberlife technician to install social module RK-eight—" 

"All right, shut up." 

Gavin makes eye contact with the white collar bottom feeder. "I told you he couldn't do that." 

"Well I'd be interested in a demonstration of his actual programming," ADA Byers says. "I've heard a lot about the eight hundred models can do with their analyzing software, and he's supposed to be an upgrade, right?" 

"Sure," Gavin says. He knows what comes next. 

"That's in their mouths isn't it?" Byers gives a good ole boys chuckle and shoots him a wink. "With him mouthing off like that, I suppose you might find a more productive use for it?" 

Gavin nods. "Oh yeah, sure. The lieutenant keeps Connor on a pretty tight leash, but if you'd like a demonstration, you know, as the Assistant District Attorney …" 

Soon-to-be-former-ADA Byers smirks. "Well. I guess I must say I have wondered how ah … useful, that feature truly is to the city of Detroit." 

"Yeah, I'd be happy to make him give a demonstration to you," Gavin says. 

He hands Nines his champagne glass. 

"Here, show ADA Byers what your mouth can do." 

Nines takes it and eats the top part of the flute. The glass makes a horrible crunching noise under his teeth, which are now all longer and sharper. He swallows, LED still a tranquil blue. 

ADA Byers looks like he's a second away from shitting his lungs out in shock. 

"Dammit RK," Gavin says fake-sternly. "I meant analyze the champagne. I'm so sorry, this is why you really should get yours a social module, ma'am." 

Kathryn Gail nods dumbly, then actually drops her mouth open to gape as Nines unhinges _his_ mouth like a fucking demonic python. With his chin resting loosely against his throat, they can all see how his second set of teeth extend all the way back down his throat. He tosses the entire flute of champagne into his mouth, then shuts it with a sickening crack as his jaw re-aligns. 

Nines chews again with a bored expression. "Louis Roederer Cristal Brut, twenty-thirty, sixty-percent Pinot Noir, forty-percent Chardonnay blend. Ninety-eight point score from Decanter magazine. Analysis profile registered to the Detroit Police Department database." 

"Yeah, that's the other thing," Gavin says. "Whatever goes in his mouth gets analyzed and registered with the DPD. You know, after the teeth and the … you saw." He shrugs. "Like I said, they stripped out _all_ of Connor's nice little social programs." 

ADA Byers grips his champagne flute so hard he might shatter that one too. Gavin just smiles dumbly at him like there's no problem. 

And there isn't going to be any problem. Bitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Byers: ayyyyy boy what that mouth do? ;)
> 
> Nines: *eats glass*
> 
> Byers: ... don't do that
> 
> Gavin, even MORE turned on: outta my way gay boy, I'm bouta get it!!
> 
> Gavin buys him boba tea made with real marbles. "rock candy" that's just literally gravel. a jawbreaker that's just a really big rock he found. Nines likes the cronch :)
> 
>  **coming up next:** Gavin receives a cryptic warning from Agent Montoya about the IA circling closer, sees Grayson again when he least expects it, and then gets blacklisted by Byers when it's his turn at the auction. Will someone dare to go against the ADA to bid on him or will he be humiliated on stage? And who does he _want_ to go home with anyway?


	13. Detective for Sale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin receives a cryptic warning from Agent Montoya about the IA circling closer, sees Grayson again when he least expects it, and then gets blacklisted by Byers when it's his turn at the auction. Will someone dare to go against the ADA to bid on him or will he be humiliated on stage? And who does he want to go home with anyway?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how much would yall pay for one Gavin, be honest
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** Grayson again, attempted emotional manipulation, public embarrassment

"Now that certainly is an upgrade," Kathryn Gail says, after ADA Byers storms off. 

Luckily, his real-estate-whatever lackey and sadly heterosexual wife followed after him. Gavin would toast their departure, but now his glass is only so many broken shards. That Nines swallowed. He's not really sure if he should be concerned about that injuring the android or not. 

"Unfortunately, I need to leave soon myself," she continues. "I didn't expect to be sorry to miss the auction, but I wouldn't mind spending an evening with either of you again. And of course I plan to continue donating to the DPD, regardless." 

Gavin gives her a slightly-more-real smile. "That's very generous of you. I'm available pretty much anytime, but RK here really doesn't get out much." 

"Would you be open to changing that?" Kathryn Gail asks him directly. 

Nines tilts his head ever-so-slightly. "Would our conversation be relevant?" 

Gavin clears his throat and leans in to whisper to her, "He _really_ doesn't do anything but work. No offense to you at all, he's just no interested in … anything else." 

"Pity," she sighs. "I really am interested in his recommendation though, so perhaps a working lunch would be more appropriate?" 

Gavin takes a quick glance over at Nines, who keeps his LED blue and nods. "Yeah, that would be great." 

"And which one of you should I call?" she asks. 

"Detective Reed handles the social aspect of our work," Nines actually answers himself. "But if you contact him to arrange a lunch, I will make myself available." 

Oh wow, he can be smooth. Who the fuck installed that? 

Kathryn Gail smiles. "Here's my card. It was so nice meeting you boys." 

Gavin takes the card and says goodbye before he can get tongue-tied from all the big Top energy radiating off the two of them. Also, watching her walk away. The tight pencil skirt on that dress means she can't walk any faster than a slink, but goddamn if she needs to do anything else. 

"The card, Detective," Nines says. 

"What?" Gavin drags his eyes away. "Oh, yeah. Right." 

He puts it in the inner pocket of his jacket to keep it extra safe while Nines rolls his eyes. 

"Are you interested in more than a working lunch?" the android asks, head cocked to the side. 

"What?" Gavin says again. "With her? Fuck. She'd eat me alive one limb at a time, and I'd thank her after ripping off each one." 

Nines' eyes narrow. "I could rip off your limbs." 

Gavin opens his mouth but can't think of what to say. He's too struck by the mental image of his partner being some sort of sexy spider man-eater. But emphasis on the sexy bitch part. It was in an anime he saw once when he fifteen and—christ, stop thinking about it! 

"Detective." 

He almost doesn't recognize the title coming out of the mouth of someone other than his partner. He actually glances at Nines first to confirm that wasn't him, even though the voice is clearly different. 

Then the crowd parts and swirls away, and Agent Montoya steps out. 

"Detective Reed," she greets. "Have you seen my partner?" 

"Uh, no." Gavin pushes down the urge to glance around and see who's seeing him speak to her. "Definitely would remember if I did." 

Montoya sighs. "I'm ready to leave, but I know he'll pitch a fit if I don't tell him first. He'll probably complain anyway for stepping out this early, but I just can't stand all the smells anymore." 

He doesn't manage to catch the urge to glance down in time, so he takes a painfully obvious look at her stomach--and the dress she's wearing does in fact have a flowing empire waist that he wouldn't have noticed otherwise, without an actual bump yet. 

"Yes," she confirms before he asks. "I'll be taking maternity leave soon, and he's pissed about that too." 

"Congratulations," Gavin tells her. "On the leave, and the baby." 

"Well, I'm not too happy about leaving all my cases," Montoya replies. "My wife and I are excited about the baby though." 

"Leaving work behind can be tough," he agrees. "I just about went crazy on my medical leave, and that was just for a month. But hey, you get a free partner upgrade. Or shit, I hope your wife is better than--" 

Montoya waves him off. "I'm not making any statements about my partner. Or my cases. In fact, I'm not even speaking to you. I asked if you had seen Cliffs, you congratulated my pregnancy. And he … didn't speak at all." 

She looks over at Nines, who has defaulted back to parade stance and bored blue LED. 

"No dialogue options about babies," Gavin says. 

"God, I wish I could install that on everyone else asking me dumb fucking questions. But I need to go find my partner now," she tells him. 

"Right." Gavin nods to her. "Good luck." 

Montoya gives him a shrewd look. "You too." 

Then she walks away. Shit, that was a warning if he ever heard one. If she's going on maternity leave soon, all her cases are getting handed over to Cliffs. 

The cases she was very clear she can't talk to him about. 

Because it would be a conflict of interest. 

He's still musing over what IA wants to complain about now and if they've fully covered their own asses with that "discovered" money when yet another person approaches him. 

"Gavin?" 

Shiiit. Grayson. That's exactly who he needs to see right now--his gorgeous ex-boyfriend looking like an Italian supermodel in the designer suit he's wearing. 

Nines brushes off a piece of glass caught in his high collar. 

"I'm glad I caught you," Grayson says. "I told you the last time I saw you that I hoped we could catch up sometime. I meant it when I said I'd like to make it up to you, after how I … handled our relationship. So I just wanted to make sure it would be fine if I bid on you tonight." 

Gavin gapes at him. He was having such a nice evening, drinking three hundred dollar champagne and bullshitting rich fucks too stupid to know better. But now, between the ADA trying to sexually harass his partner, a cryptic warning that the hammer is about to come down, and his ex-boyfriend popping up out of fucking nowhere, it feels like he's just been punched three different times from three different angles. 

"You did not say that," Nines says before he can think of a response. 

"Hello to you too, RK," Grayson says with a good-natured smile. "I suppose you're Gavin's plus one to help showcase the department's commitment to android-human relations? That's really nice." 

"You did not say that," Nines repeats. "You merely admitted that you mishandled your attitude toward his work, not the relationship. You also made no mention of making it up to him." 

Grayson's smile tightens. "I think I remember what I said." 

Nines leaves his mouth open—a reasonable amount this time—and replays his exact words in Grayson's own voice. "I know I, ah, mishandled, how I treated you about your work … Maybe I'll really see you later. Ciao!" 

Grayson stares at the android, his smile slipping off entirely. Gavin grabs Nines' arm and attempts to physically haul him away. It doesn't do shit. 

"Actually, I need to head up to the stage for the auction," he says. "Right. Now." Another ineffectual pull. "Walk me over there, RK." 

Nines turns away from Grayson and allows himself to be pulled. Motherfucker. 

"We'll catch up later," Gavin calls back to him. 

Then he grips Nines' arm tighter and powerwalks the fuck away from that disaster. 

"What the fuck was that?" he hisses to his partner. 

"He lied," Nines says. 

"Oh my god, he didn't lie!" 

"He did not say—" 

"Humans don't remember the exact goddamn wording they used in a casual conversation a fucking week ago!" 

Gavin lets go of him and runs his hands through his hair. He's fucking up the pomade, but who cares. Maybe he'll look the sexy sort of disheveled instead of stressed the fuck out for the bidding. 

That Grayson's going to participate in, apparently. 

"Look, just …" Gavin breathes in and out, and tries to actually keep his temper in check for once. "Just go grab a table. You should have a seat saved at Hank and Connor's table. We can leave right after the auction ends, OK?" 

"Yes, Detective," Nines says. 

His voice sounds as monotone as ever, but Gavin would swear before Jesus, God, and Captain Fowler himself his partner is still being a passive-aggressive bitch about this. 

Or his emotional-hypervigilance is making him imagine a tone where there isn't one. 

Or his ADHD rejection dysphoria is making him paranoid that Nines is mad at him. 

Or his BPD is making his own irritation too intense for the situation and he's projecting— 

"Just go," he finally says. "We'll talk later." 

"Yes, Detective." 

Nines turns around and goes. He literally just leaves without saying anything else. Motherfucking literal android. Gavin scrubs a hand over his face again. Now he's promised a "talk" to two different … 

His mind stutters, trying to find a common denominator between Grayson and Nines. 

Obviously, he's fucked them both. But Grayson isn't his partner and Nines isn't his boyfriend. And he's not in a relationship with either of them. 

Fuck. 

"Hey." 

Gavin snaps his head up to deal with whoever's bothering him now, but it's only Chris. 

"You ready for the auction?" Chris asks. "You look like you've seen a ghost, man." 

"Just an ex-boyfriend," he mutters. 

Chris raises an eyebrow. "Here?" 

Right. Why would anyone rich and pretty ever slum it fucking Gavin's mangey ass? 

"He's a real estate …" Gavin tries to remember, but honestly, he'd been just as shit about respecting Grayson's work too. "Something." 

"Huh." Chris clicks his tongue against his teeth and gestures to the door backstage. "After you." 

Gavin hasn't prayed in years, and he never really attended Mass, but right now he wishes he had something other than the Lord's prayer memorized. He's not even wearing his St. Labre talisman, shit. 

Might as well get this over with. 

The worst part is waiting. He's lucky Chris is in line behind him to talk to, because Hank and Connor are in front, and otherwise he'd have to watch Connor fuss over Hank like an adoring housewife. 

All right, maybe he's cleaned up real fucking nice, but he's always been hot. His only problem has just been the lack of personal hygiene, but now that he's brushed his hair and teeth, trimmed his beard, and put on a clean suit, he looks like the same thicc ass bear he always has been. 

Even if he somehow managed to find the world's most hideous dress shirt to wear underneath the suit jacket. Are those pineapples? Gavin can't tell because they're fucking fuchsia. 

The MC announces that the auction will begin, and the precinct's Chloe receptionist shushes them. She does a sweep over the line as Pearson and even that new RK800 down in the morgue squeeze into the tight space. 

Captain Fowler speaks into the mic next, probably some bullshit about unity and equality and please give us your money. He keeps it pretty short and sweet though, then the bidding starts with him. 

Connor goes next. They can't really hear anything clearly back here, but it takes a long time for the bidding to die down, so he must earn his keep. Hank takes just about as long, and then it's Gavin's turn. 

Go time. 

"Next up, we have Detective Reed," the MC announces. "He's had the highest rate of cases solved in the DPD's homicide department for five years running now, and you may recognize him from a case recently in the news for saving a YK-five-hundred—" 

Gavin tunes out the bio on him and scans the crowd. Nines blends in at the back of the room, standing against the far wall like the catering and hostess android staff serving the humans at the event about improved android-human relations. Old biases die hard, apparently. He only spots Nines because the other androids give him a wide berth on either side—and he towers over everyone else at six-foot-four. 

"Let's start the bidding at five-hundred dollars," the MC says with enthusiasm only an EM400 could muster. "Do I hear five-hundred, fivehundreddollarsdoIhearfivehundred?" 

No one bids. 

Gavin knows he looks good. If Nines "I am asexual and humans are disgusting" said he looks handsome, then he knows he damn well looks _good_. 

But everyone just whispers to themselves instead of bidding. 

The MC drops the price down to three hundred, then one. Gavin spots ADA Byers looking smug past the glare of the stage lights. Shit. He didn't sweat pissing him off too much since he'll probably be replaced in a month or two anyway with the turnover rate so high right now, especially with an anti-android attitude. 

And that might still happen, but it'll do fuck all right now to stop him from humiliating Gavin tonight by black-balling him. With Kathryn Gail gone already, there's no one else with enough balls or who cares enough to go against the Assistant District Attorney just to bid on him. 

He scans the crowd again and spots Grayson—sitting next to that lackey Nines scared so badly. Double shit. Real estate, they're both real estate somethings, and from the apologetic expression on Grayson's face, he must be his boss. 

"Fifty dollars!" Tina calls. 

Gavin suppresses a wince. Only getting a bid from his best friend is probably more embarrassing than not getting any at all. But fuck this. 

"Fifty dollars! DoIhearseventyfive, canIgetseventyfive, seventyfiveforthe—" 

Gavin walks over and grabs the mic from the startled EM400. 

"Winning bidder gets one free punch," he tells the crowd. "Ever wanted to hit a cop? Got some parking tickets you're pissed—" 

"One hundred dollars!" Connor shouts from the table of the woman who won him. 

"One fifty!" real estate lackey bids, ADA be damned. 

Gavin hands the mic back to the MC. His work here is done. 

"OnefiftydoIheartwohundred, canIget—" 

"Two hundred!" Tina bids again. 

Gavin flips her off, and the crowd ripples with a chuckle. 

"Twohundrednowletmehearthree, who'sgoingforthree?" 

Byers does _not_ look happy, but in the end, it seems he can't miss out on an opportunity like this. "Three hundred!" 

"Three-fifty!" Hank shouts next. 

"Four hundred!" Connor counters. 

Gavin doesn't know if they're just driving the price up for Byers, or if each of them really want to punch him that goddamn badly, but it's their money if they get stuck with the bid. It's probably the former though, otherwise they wouldn't be bidding against each other. 

Byers does not disappoint. "Five hundred!" 

"FivehundredcanIhearsix, canIgetsix, whataboutfivefifty, anyone'sbidforfivefifty, five-hundred going once …" 

OK, Gavin can live with that. He can sure as hell take a punch from that white collar asshole, especially if he has to pay five hundred dollars for the privilege. 

"Five-hundred going twice …" 

Yeah, it's probably a grand or two less than what Connor and Hank went for, but he'll— 

"Five-hundred going three times—!" 

"One thousand for the date!" 

*** 

"One thousand for the date!" Grayson [ex-boyfriend] bids. 

Incorrect. 

While Gavin himself may not have designated the other human as [hostile], humans are sentimental and often blinded by their own illogical emotions. As an objective observer, Nines clearly recognizes that Grayson has [lied] to him at least once already, and bidding on a romantic date after their relationship has ended, at a public event, with the threat of money being donated or withheld to the department when the detective is openly lobbying for a promotion is manipulative. 

It is [unethical]. 

"Two thousand for the unarmed physical strike," Nines counter-bids. 

Many people in the crowd turn around to stare at him. Grayson looks over as well, and he opens his mouth as if he might bid even higher. Two thousand is already at the limit of discretionary funds Nines has. 

"He hustled me at pool," he announces to the room. 

Nines does not have the social module necessary to predict the reaction of Grayson, much less an entire crowd of individual people. But perhaps stating a reason for his higher bid will … help? 

"I have been his partner for almost five months now," he says. "I deserve this." 

Lieutenant Anderson chuckles and sets down his bidding card. "I can't argue with that. I'm out." 

"How did he hustle you at pool?" Connor calls across the room. "It is simple geometry." 

Is his predecessor attempting to embarrass him or help strengthen his claim? Since Nines must guess rather than preconstruct, he will guess the answer is both. 

"He pretended to be far more intoxicated than he truly was," Nines replies. 

"Oh, yeah!" Tina yells. "We all went out drinking and Gavin had the bright idea to hustle the bigger, scarier Connor!" 

Normally, Nines would reject any comparison to his predecessor, but it is more convenient for the general public to believe he is simply an upgraded RK800 model. 

"Brother, it is still just geometry," Connor says. 

"I made the cautionary decision to end my turn rather than attempt to maneuver the cue ball around an uneven portion of the table, given that the human was far too intoxicated to win on his own turn," Nines explains. "Yet when he took said turn, he was not intoxicated and sank the remaining striped balls. I was hustled." 

The crowd murmurs again. Nines picks up the phrase "social module" being repeated the most often, in regard to his lack of one. Several people openly laugh. This will be tolerated, so long as— 

Yes. Grayson sets down his bidding card and holds up his hands. 

"I see you have the superior claim," he calls out. "Sorry, Gavin!" 

Yes, Nines does have the [superior] claim, as Grayson does not have any claim to Detective Gavin Alexander Reed whatsoever. 

Connor pings him with a request to open communication. Nines accepts solely because his predecessor's social module might be useful at the current moment, but he prepares to block the eight-hundred if his communication is not relevant. 

_[RK800 #313 248 317 – 52]: Hello, Nines. Thank you for unblocking me. I would like to contribute half of the price to your cause._

**[RK900 #313 248 317 – 00]: Explain.**

"Two thousand going once," the EM400 says. 

_[RK800 – 52]: I have had longer to build discretionary funds than you, and I am able to save more by cohabitating with my human._

That is simply how Connor can afford to split the cost, not an actual explanation of why he would be willing to do so. Nines has neither the time nor the [patience] to play this little game. 

**[RK900 – 00]: Irrelevant. Explain.**

_[RK800 – 52]: You are very touchy for a machine._

_[RK800 – 52]: Firstly, I whole-heartedly support your endeavor to punch Detective Reed. Humans quite often say they would "pay good money to see [thing]" and now I have the opportunity to do so literally._

"Two thousand going twice …" 

_[RK800 – 52]: Secondly, Hank [my human] also has an "ex." I propose we extend the conditions of our truce to preventing [exes] from entering back into our humans' lives, just as we would prevent each other's humans from being physically harmed._

Except via punching, apparently. 

Also, Nines can clearly preconstruct even without a social module that this new addition benefits Connor / Lieutenant Anderson more than it does Gavin and himself. Anderson's ex did once have a legal claim to him, as well as the production of a child that died. Any reunion between the two of them is certain [^99%] to be outright hostile, and possibly include financial and legal disputes as well. 

But Nines is the one with an ex-boyfriend attempting to stake a claim on his human right now. 

**[RK900 – 00]: Accepted.**

"SOLD to the android in the back for two thousand dollars!" the EM400 shouts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nines, angrily flirting: *I* could rip off your limbs. **I'm** hot evil lady!! >:/
> 
> Gavin, a horny lil penis with legs: I would like to fuck around and find out
> 
> ***
> 
> Grayson: *speaks*
> 
> Nines: Unauthorized. Blocked. Die.
> 
> ***
> 
>  **coming up next:** Gavin drags Nines into the bathroom and demands to know what the fuck is going on. Nines asks him out, but not really, except yes though. So they go back home to have what definitely is not a date, because it's a really weird medical exam that Nines promises "won't" be sexual.
> 
> Gavin's prostate has other ideas.


	14. To a Good Home ONLY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin drags Nines into the bathroom and demands to know what the fuck is going on. Nines asks him out, but not really, except yes though. So they go back home to have what definitely is not a date, because it's a really weird medical exam that Nines promises "won't" be sexual.
> 
> Gavin's prostate has other ideas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nines: This won't be sexual.
> 
> also Nines: blease may I finger your whole entire asshole, detective
> 
>  **tags & trigger warnings:** medical exam roleplay, massage, orgasm denial, petting, voice kink, praise kink
> 
> references to Gavin previously being tortured, transgender dysphoria, Gavin's g-spot is referred to as a prostate

Gavin hauls ass and his android out of the damn ballroom as soon as he can. He's not even sure if he said he wasn't going to the bathroom or for a smoke break. He might have said smokeroom break. 

They wind up in the men's bathroom anyway. 

"All right, tell me what the fuck that was," Gavin demands as soon as he checks that they're alone. "'Cause if you have a problem, you don't have to pay two thousand fucking dollars to hit me about it." 

Nines reaches out, moving slowly enough for it to almost be funny. He's just way too stressed out to see the humor in anything right now. Shit, maybe he does need a smo— 

Nines taps the tip of his finger against his nose. "One unarmed physical strike. I have now fulfilled the parameters of—" 

"No," Gavin snaps. "Shut—just. Just. Stop. Stop it." 

Is he saying that to Nines or himself? He barks out a laugh at the silent question and grips the edge of the sink. He really, really needs a smoke. And also not to start yelling at his partner to shut up, because if he really doesn't have a problem now, he will after that. 

Sink. Water. 

Gavin splashes cold water on his face and tries to both not think about why he's so ungodly pissed off right now and yet also act like a calm rational adult. 

"Did you bid." He strangles out of a tight throat. "On me. Out of pity?" 

"No." Nines turns yellow and cocks his head to the side. "I lack the capacity, but also, why would I feel pity for you?" 

Gavin scowls down into the sink. "Wasn't getting any bids." 

"Because you did not allow the ADA to sexually harass me," Nines says evenly. "His power play in turn may have embarrassed you, but it was not embarrassing. You are an excellent partner." 

OK, breathe in and breathe out and also don't cry. Jesus. He doesn't know when his emotions got all fucked up this evening. 

"Regardless, you had the situation handled," Nines continues. "You turned the ADA's own game back on him quite admirably." 

"Then why did you bid?" he asks. "Grayson already …" 

And there's the thing he doesn't want to think about. Grayson really went through with it and bid on him. For a thousand dollars! And now all his desperate little brain goblins are screaming that he still likes him, he must really, really like him, but his natural paranoia is screaming just as loudly that he would have been socially trapped in a date with his ex-boyfriend he swore he'd never go back to, and also Nines is here and who the _fuck_ knows how he's involved. 

"He already lied to you," Nines says. 

Gavin groans. "He didn't lie. He thought he said something, and he only said something similar instead. That happens with humans." 

Nines stands silent and unmoving for a good thirty seconds. "Acknowledged." 

He doesn't know how someone with a monotone speaking voice can manage to sound pissed off and reluctant without actually using either tone, but by god does Nines manage it. The wonders of modern technology. 

"I bid for the unarmed physical strike," Nines says unprompted. "So I understand that was the only action to which I was entitled." 

"Oh my god, would you please stop speaking latin-english and just end on a preposition?" Gavin complains. 

Nines spins yellow once like he's considering it. "No. As I was saying." 

The bitchy attitude actually gets a snort out of him. This feels more … solid. The two of them, bickering and pissing each other off. This makes sense—first thing to do so all night. 

"But the original terms were to spend an evening engaging in an activity chosen by the winning bidder." Nines shuts off his LED entirely. "Would you be amenable to that with me, Detective?" 

Gavin stares at him. "Are you—are _you_ asking me out?" 

Nines rolls his eyes and manages to scrounge up enough facial expression to look exasperated. "No. I am not requesting a romantic date, merely an evening engaging in an activity of my choice." 

Gavin turns to fully face him for the first time, leaning his hip against the sink counter. An activity of his choice, huh? He really can't imagine what the hell an undeviated android does for fun, and trying to imagine what his partner Nines specifically would do just conjures up images of alphabetizing old paper file folders and flushing out dirty highlighters with new fluid to make them write clean again. 

"Babe, if you wanted to try something new, you could've just asked," he finally says. 

"Yes." Nines keeps his hands behind his back at parade rest. "I understand if you deem basing my request on winning the bid to be manipulative." 

"Yeah, then why did you bid?" 

"I can guarantee my own actions," Nines answers. "I will accept either that an evening in exchange for a monetary donation to your place of work is manipulative and degrading to your value as a human being, or if you decline my choice of activity. I cannot say the same for Grayson." 

"He's …" 

Gavin trails off and shoves his hands inside the outer pockets of his good leather jacket instead. He's not going to defend his ex-boyfriend who told him he was too fucked up to be loved and left him—after a whole of other shit, to be honest—but. He has to fight to swallow back the words too. 

That's what he needs to get through his thick fucking head: Grayson always fucks him up. Five minutes around him, and he couldn't figure out which way is north with three guesses and a compass. 

"So what do you wa—" 

Gavin stops himself again and blinks. Want. Nines _wants_ something. He's not saying it out loud, obviously, because it would deviate him or break his mind or something, but he made the bid because he _wants_ to do something. 

"What did you have in mind?" he asks. 

"Mission: perform a thorough examination of Gavin Reed's—partner—body," Nines states. 

Gavin feels his eyebrows shoot up. "O … kay. That a mission you set for yourself?" 

"Yes." 

"Is that … sexual?" he asks slowly in disbelief. "Or is this like a medical thing? I know I'm shit at the whole safe, sane, and consent part, but I get tested and everything. Every six months." 

"You have forbidden me from accessing your medical files," Nines reminds him. 

Oh yeah. Back at the beginning of all of this, when he was still freaking out every five seconds that Nines would scan him, realize he's transgender, and tell the whole bullpen. Not that most people don't already know, but he passes pretty much one-hundred-percent now and all the drama and gossip about it has died down. Except if an android starts bullhorn blasting a list of all the surgeries he's had and— 

No. We're going to be a big boy adult today, not a paranoid little gremlin. 

"Well if we're fucking, you deserve to see that I'm clean," he mutters. 

"I have assessed that already." 

"OK, so what—" Gavin stops and presses the heels of his hands into his eyes as he tries to be like, nice and understanding. And shit. "Babe, you can choose what, what activities, or whatever, that we do. That's fine. I'm not asking for you to get deep here or talk about your feelings or anything either. I just don't understand what the—what's the objective here?" 

"I will perform a thorough examination of your physical model to determine accurate measurements," Nines replies. 

Gavin mouths _accurate measurements_ to himself and while he tries to figure out what the fuck that means outside of android-speak. 

He's an adult, he can think critically. He likes to think he's got a pretty good social intuition, even if he disregards it regularly to be an asshole. What the hell is Nines trying to say here? 

"Why do you need accurate measurements of my body?" he tries asking next. 

"I did not know the exact length of your limbs while you were being interrogated by the WJ-seven-hundred," Nines says, LED still blue like this conversation is still normal. "You requested a step in order to get high enough to lift the chain link off the ceiling hook. My preconstruction software would have provided your exact measurements and how much additional height you needed, but I shut it down to prevent the WJ-seven-hundred from accessing it." 

"And now you want to take those measurements yourself just in case you can't use that again," Gavin finishes for him. 

Nines nods and even draws his lips back in a glitchy little smile since they're alone. 

Jesus Christ. His—his partner— 

Gavin's brain stutters over trying to understand that he has a partner who cares about him. Who's still worrying about him, over a month after that incident. And how fucking bullshit it is that Nines basically has zero methods of actually confronting and working through his feelings after being mind-violated and watching his own partner get tortured. 

Not even the unhealthy ones! Shit, the poor android can't even get drunk about it, he doesn't even _sleep_. Gavin has no idea if Nines can orgasm or not—even with an "attachment"—but he's 99% sure it's purely mental for him when they fuck around. 

And Gavin knows better than anyone that only using sex to cope with trauma without ever actually processing your feelings is a great way to fuck yourself up. 

"I scanned your bodily proportions while you were in the hospital, obviously," Nines continues. "I did not neglect this mission for over a month. But Connor sent me a data packet on consent that stated touching a sleeping person without their consent is not—" 

Gavin scoffs. "Oh my god, that meddling little asshole. Of course you can touch me while I'm asleep or unconscious or whatever. You're my partner. I'd trust Tina to move me around or cuddle with me too." 

Nines spins yellow as he absorbs that. "I have your permission to touch or relocate you while you are unconscious?" 

"Yes." 

"I believe the examination I have preconstructed would go beyond those bounds, however," Nines says. "Is it acceptable that I do not extend the same permission to you, barring physical harm enacted on either of us if you did not interfere?" 

"Yeah, I know better than to touch you while you're in stasis," Gavin tells him. "You know that sometimes I might wake up swinging, and you've been good about holding me down until I realize what's going on, but I can't really do the same with you if your combat protocols activate. I'm not going to do anything stupid." 

"Thank you, Detective." Nines flashes a brighter blue than usual. "Is my choice of activity acceptable to you?" 

If "examining" him will let his partner feel like he has more control over what happened and help let go of any guilt he's still holding onto, then yeah. Fuck it. Gavin's roleplayed way weirder shit than a semi-medical examination. 

"Yeah, let's just get out of here." 

*** 

Gavin lays down stomach-first on his bed, freshly showered, testosterone gel dutifully rubbed on his shoulders, and his ass nice and enema'd—just in case—for his _thorough_ examination. 

"This is not a sexual scene," Nines decides to tell him. 

OK, so now he just doesn't have any fucking idea what they're doing here, but … Nines is his partner. He … trusts? … him?? 

With his life and their job, yeah. That's fine. Nothing he can do to the first Gavin hasn't let other guys do before or done to himself all on his own, and Nines is the best work-partner he's ever had. 

And with his ass, yeah. See: other guys, and his coping mechanism gone wrong of letting anyone with a dick and a bad attitude fuck him. 

It's just now they're maybe getting outside of those three comfort areas, and he's not really sure what the hell is left. 

"I understand you will likely become aroused, and you will not be punished for it," Nines continues. "But that is not my objective." 

Gavin grunts into the pillow. 

"Do you understand?" 

He twists around and props up on his elbow to look back at Nines. "Hey, yeah, we're good. You don't have to make sure I come, like, every time we hang out. And I've done lots of scenes where I wasn't allowed to anyway. That's a thing." 

Nines cocks his head to the side. "Orgasm denial is acceptable?" 

Gavin wishes he could consciously stop himself from blushing. He's done way wilder shit than this, but something about Nines' prim and perfect attitude even while—especially while—discussing kinks just gets to him. 

"Yeah." 

"Very well," Nines says. "Lay back down." 

Gavin does just that so he can at least hide his face again. He hears the click of the lube cap, then Nines rubbing his hands together to warm it up. That's a lot more considerate than he expected from an android who has maybe two percent understanding of human— 

Nines' hands, warm and big, cover the nape of his neck on either side, then glide smoothly over his shoulders. Every thought inside his head scatters like bunnies, and he can't hold back a surprised moan. Between "clinic examination with latex gloves and a doctor kink" or "thinly veiled excuse for an undeviated android to try something new sexually," a goddamn _massage_ did not make the list of possibilities. 

"Where'd you learn …" Gavin has to stop and swallow another sigh as Nines drags his hands down the entire length of his back. "Massage?" 

"I have downloaded the relevant GV-two-hundred protocols," Nines answers. 

"GV …?" 

Shit, it's hard to think right now. He gets fucked often enough—minus the handful of months he's been partnered with Nines—that he didn't think he was fucking touch-starved or anything, but having the android's hands on him like this feels embarrassingly good. 

"The GV-two-hundred is not just a sports partner or nutritionist, but an inclusive combination of sports massage therapist, personal chef, and general home assistant. This model is perfect for keeping professional athletes both physically fit and mentally at ease, knowing all their daily workout, diet, and personal needs will be—" 

Gavin manages to fight past the lethargy enough to lift a hand and wave off Nines' creepily monotone recitation of the peppy Cyberlife advertisement. It's not like he's in any state to actually pay attention to the spiel anyway, especially when Nines' voice makes the perfect white noise machine for putting his dumb ass to sleep. 

"Mmhmm," he offers as an explanation that he's falling asleep. 

The last time he had a massage was years ago, but he can still tell the difference between that and what Nines does. His partner seems more concerned with feeling the individual muscles and vertebrae of his back, without any tricks or variation to how he digs in his thumbs—not that Gavin's complaining. 

Then, just when he's so relaxed he really has started to doze off a little, Nines cracks his neck. 

"Whugh!" Gavin bleats in surprise. "Wuh—the fuck was that?" 

He half sits up, clutching at the back of his neck as if that would help keep his spine in place if Nines really decided to kill him. 

"A basic chiropractic adjustment," Nines replies calmly. "I am re-aligning your spine." 

"Yeah, well—give a man a little phcking warning before you snap his damn neck!" 

"Stop being such a little baby." 

Gavin twists around to glare at him. "Did Tina teach you to call me that?" 

Nines makes direct, unafraid eye contact with him like a cat that's never gotten in trouble before. "Yes." 

"I hate you both." 

Gavin flops back down on the bed though, because he's naked and leaving is too much work. It's his own goddamn apartment, anyway. 

"Crack me like a glowstick, daddy," he says, just to piss Nines off. 

"I can snap your neck for real." 

He grunts, but stays quiet after that so he'll get his free massage. And chiropractor's appointment, apparently. That shit costs money, so of course his back is all fucked up and out of alignment. 

Meanwhile, Nines takes this chiropractor shit seriously. He cracks the other side of Gavin's neck, presses all down his spine in these short, sharp little pops, then does something to his hips that— _god_. Gavin groans and wiggles in place, just to feel how loose and not-painful it is. 

And if the "wiggling" happens to put some friction on his cock trapped between his stomach and the bed sheets, well. Nines notices immediately though and leans down to speak into his ear. 

"You are only making this worse for yourself," he says with his hands on Gavin's hips like that isn't fucking making it so much _harder_ too. 

"Mmgph," Gavin grumps back. 

He settles down though and holds still. After a few seconds, Nines pats his flank like he's an obedient horse. 

"Good boy." 

Fuck. He buries his burning face deeper into his arms and hopes his blush isn't flushing up to his ears too. 

Now that everything has been re-aligned or whatever, Nines goes back to a more regular massage. Gavin assumes he's also taking measurements, maybe building some sort of virtual 3D preconstruction android-thingy in his head too, but then he can't be assed to think any more thoughts other than _uhhhhhmmph_. 

"You make such lovely noises," Nines tells him quietly. 

Gavin whines in response. Not fair. How is he supposed to be tough and coherent when this big Dom angel is touching him all over and telling him nice shit? 

"Good boy, my good boy." 

A twisted part of him really hopes this is all because Nines is jealous Grayson bid on him, because that's hot as fuck. The rational part recognizes that they're not in a relationship, he'd rather dip his twelve thousand dollar phalloplasty dick in lava than BE in a romantic relationship, and a military-grade android experiencing emotions for the first time with zero healthy coping skills or pre-installed morals getting "jealous" is an incredibly bad idea. 

But that is a very small part of him right now. The other nine-tenths just wants Nines to fuck him and mark him and then make him go to sleep still hard and needy without coming so he knows exactly who his ass belongs to. 

Nines seems to know just what he's thinking, and dips down from his lower back to his glutes at that exactly that moment. 

"Given my earlier caveat, is it acceptable for me to examine your prostate?" Nines asks casually, as if that's a casual question to ask. 

"Don't have one." 

Gavin doesn't lift his head up or try to look back at Nines when he says it. He knows the android can hear him either way, and he _really_ doesn't want to make eye contact while discussing this. 

"You—" Nines' voice and hands both pause for a moment. "Oh. Yes." 

Yeah, that's right, he's transgender. Gavin chokes down a laugh that would probably sound crazy bitter. Maybe it should be like, a compliment or something. That even the most advanced android ever made can forget. He's just passing that goddamn well. 

It should be. 

That's what he wants. 

It makes him feel a little sick. 

"My apologies, darling." Nines leans down again, rubbing his hands up Gavin's back and over his shoulders. "I will not be inaccurate again." 

Gavin hums and keeps hiding his face. "Can you … still. Call it that?" 

"A prostate?" 

"Yeah. All of—" He forces the words out. "All of it. Not a clit, or tits, or a g-spot. I know it's not—fuck, that it's not like, accurate, or whatever, but …" 

He can't say anything more. Jesus. It's been over a decade since the last time he got all choked up about this shit. This is what he gets for trusting someone and trying to have a nice evening. 

"Human bodies are weak and terribly designed," Nines says with no tact whatsoever. "As you are literally walking disasters—your method of bi-pedal walking is simply to fall forward and catch yourselves each time, which puts undue stress on your hips and spine, which is in and of itself a horrible—" 

Gavin snorts out a laugh. "Babe. S'okay." 

"I—" 

Nines stops and squeezes his arms. It's a close enough mimicry to a comforting gesture that Gavin recognizes what he's trying to do, but the android's idea of "comforting" is to squeeze tightly enough that it borders on painful, hold that mechanical grip without any variation for exactly three seconds, and then release. 

"I am. Trying to convey. That there is no need for absolute accuracy in this case," Nines says slowly. “Human bodies are already, as Hank would say, a shitshow.” 

His voice cuts in and out like he's pushed his processors to the absolute limit to arrive to that conclusion—and Gavin's not thinking that in a mean way. The android hasn't deviated, doesn't have a social processor, and does have all kinds of restrictions specifically meant to prevent him from connecting to other people on any level. He probably had to rules-lawyer his way around a dozen red walls just to say that much. 

How is this autistic, asexual, non-binary android better at this sex and gender affirming shit than the majority of the humans? 

Oh that's right, people suck. 

"Thanks." 

Gavin mutters that into the pillow, then reaches blindly back behind himself. It's a terrible angle and he can't see what he's doing, but Nines provides his hand to grab onto by shoving it against Gavin's hand. He latches onto the android's wrist and squeezes twice. 

"We're good." 

Maybe Nines taking everything literally means he'll believe that without Gavin having to expend any more emotional energy reassuring him. Maybe pretending he's a machine without feelings means they don't have to keep going with this fucking heart-to-heart bullshit. 

"Yes." Nines squeezes his hand back twice as well, then returns it back over Gavin's head. "Should I drop my original inquiry?" 

This time Gavin does make the effort to lift his head and look over his shoulder. "You wanna finger me?" 

"It is not a requirement," Nines answers with a non-answer. "I am simply … curious." 

So this _is_ android sexual exploration time. Or, well. Maybe actually not sexual? For an asexual android, maybe Nines literally is just curious about all parts of the human body, and after he touches that part too this one time, he'll be done with it. 

Honestly, whatever. Accidentally getting in his feelings again for a hot second there aside, this has been pretty great on his end as is, and of course he'll help his partner figure out what he likes and what it's like to touch another person without needing to make it sexual. 

Oh god, if he had a therapist, they'd probably shit themselves right now over the hypocrisy of him thinking he can teach that to someone else. 

"Yeah, go'head," Gavin says. 

"Thank you." 

A moment later, Nines places a little package of single-use latex gloves high up enough on the bed that Gavin can see them. They must have been in his jacket pocket. A hazy, paranoid thought occurs to him. 

"Question," he says. 

Nines pauses immediately to listen, and he tries to keep his tone neutral and not accusatory the way he always fucks up relationships with other people. 

"Why do you already have those?" 

"I added them to my personal inventory after the confrontation with Mr. Palmer, suspect," Nines says, also without any tone to suggest he's offended by the question. "In case of another such situation, disposable latex gloves are more appropriate for a crime scene and limiting cross-contamination than my black leather gloves." 

Gavin relaxes at the logical explanation. "Did you run that compromise by the captain?" 

"No." Nines' yellow LED reflects off the walls in the dimly lit bedroom. "Should I email him?" 

"Nah, I'll talk it over with him tomorrow." 

He reaches up and wraps his knuckles twice against the headboard to show they're good to continue. Nines' hands resume massaging down his lower back, across his glutes, and into the tops of his thighs. No counter-accusations of Gavin not trusting him. No fighting at all. 

Is this what that hEalThY CoMmuNiCaTioN bullshit was on about the whole time? 

Nines' thumbs slip in between his thighs, and Gavin stops thinking about that and instinctively pulls his knees up under himself just a little to lift his ass up. 

"Eager puppy," Nines admonishes. 

He doesn't push him back down though. Instead, a hand boldly pushes all the way between his legs and underneath, so he can trail his fingers over the length of Gavin's cock. 

He tsks, like it's someone else's fault Gavin is still hard and leaking slightly. 

"Baby," Gavin whines. 

That earns him a tug to his balls hard enough to make him gasp out _sir_ as a correction. Nines hums his acknowledgement and spreads his cheeks without any niceties. The clinical indifference only makes his cock twitch where it hangs. 

The room lights up yellow again, and Nines' right thumb slowly slides closer to his asshole, until he's petting directly over it. 

"How thoroughly did you wash yourself, darling?" Nines asks lowly. 

Gavin forces himself to concentrate on the question, not the thumb. "I did … did an enema. You didn't … know?" 

He knows Nines can see through walls and shit. He's got heat vision at the very least, but also probably a whole lot of other stuff Gavin's own human mind can't even comprehend. Electro-magnetic spectrums and ultra-violet light and sonar reconstruction. That level of crazy shit. 

"Bathrooms are private," Nines replies. "I attempt to ignore all human activity that occurs in them as much as I am capable." 

Gavin snorts. Yeah, if he had a dozen extra senses or something, he'd try really, really hard not to know what humans do in there too. The men's bathroom at the DPD is bad enough with just five. 

"You do not have any sexually transmitted diseases," Nines states. 

The light switches from yellow to blue. 

"You have cleaned yourself for me." 

The thumb pets over his asshole more firmly. 

"You consent to a prostate examination as well." 

Gavin whines and his thighs strain with the effort not to push himself back on the thumb just barely pressing inside of him. 

"Are the latex gloves necessary, Detective?" 

Nines is going to fuck him with his bare hands? His beautiful, pristine hands that he takes so much pride in, but he'll fuck those long, gorgeous fingers into Gavin Reed's very own slutty asshole? 

"Fuck me, fuck me, please sir," Gavin begs immediately, damn his pride. 

"Yes, my darling.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would apologize for the cliffhanger, but I'm Evil now, so I won't >:3
> 
> also, if you _really_ need your smutty reed900 fix, I've got a new commissioned fic published titled Blood and Blown, where Gavin is a werewolf short on rent, Nines is his vampire landlord, and it turns out they're both soulmates because I am AN SLUT for soulmate AUs
> 
> also, because I forgot to ask last time, how much do y'all hate Grayson? I'm trying to write him and Gavin as both believable enough to understand why they were once in a relationship / how Gavin got suckered in, because it's annoying when abusers are presented as Very Obviously Terrible bc like,, the whole point is that they know how to NOT do that shit in public!! they're almost always charming or handsome or selflessly nice--to other people, specifically so that everyone around them adores them and will not believe accusations of abuse. but at the same time, I want it to be obvious from an objective reader's perspective that yeah this guy is an asshole and he's hurt Gavin bad and any interaction with him is NOT healthy
> 
> anyway. that's just a hard dynamic to write, and I would love to get some feedback on it~


	15. A Thorough Medical Examination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines gives Gavin a massage--prostate and a regular one too. They have some deep conversation about tickling and red walls and the Cain Instinct. Then Gavin finds out Nines has literally never laid down before and bullies him into sleeping in bed together. <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have plotted and outlined the sequel to this fic, and I am beginning to write it now, if anyone's interested! ^^ Also, thank you to everyone who gave feedback about Grayson, I really appreciate it! You also won't have to see him for several more chapters, so enjoy the break lol
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** references to Nines's past sexual trauma, implied that his body physically reacted in a pleasurable way even though he did not want it to; discussion of mental illness, Gavin discusses being transgender and how wanting to pass as cis led him to making some decisions he might not have made if he had been accepted and supported without that pressure

Nines truly does not mean to make this activity sexual; it is only that his human looks so lovely whimpering and blushing and presenting his ass like a good boy. 

The sight does not cause [arousal]—he estimates that nothing will at this point—but touching Gavin like this keeps him happy. Keeps the human [his]. 

"Do you like giving me kisses like this?" Nines asks, just to be cruel. 

Gavin whines louder, and his asshole flutters open and shut against the pad of Nines's thumb. As fascinating as the sensation is, he withdraws his thumb only a moment later to replace it with a finger instead. He has taken the necessary precaution to slick it with the old bottle of massage oil he'd found in Gavin's nightstand drawer while the human made use of the bathroom. 

His finger slips inside with shocking ease. 

That— 

Oh. 

That is— 

[warm-soft-tight] wrapped around the densest concentration of sensors in his body. They aren't made for processing pleasure, but the sensation has to register as _something_. 

"Fuck," Gavin grunts beneath him. 

His human tries to push back, but Nines keeps the palm of his other hand firmly against his ass to hold him still. Gavin doesn't attempt anything more than those aborted rocking motions—that, and swearing even more. 

Nines withdraws his finger halfway, then pushes in a second to very little resistance. His preconstruction software helpfully provides scenarios of Gavin making use of the toys in his closet quite frequently to explain the ease of penetration. 

Several more preconstructions appear of his partner using his attachment instead of just a toy. 

Nines deletes those so he can concentrate. "Here?" 

He hooks his fingers down, toward Gavin's stomach rather than curling back. Gavin squirms again, and Nines lets him this time to adjust the angle. As this is his anal cavity, there is not a softer wall of tissue for Nines to distinguish himself as where he should press to stimulate the human's own sensors. 

The medical articles scrolling across his HUD indicate that a full hysterectomy should not affect sensation from that spot. A vaginectomy to remove and close any indication of that orifice also does not necessarily remove the inner lining either, particularly if performed as a cosmetic surgery and not to remove vaginal cancer. 

So hypothetically, he should be capable of— 

"There," Gavin gasps, twisting his hips. "Yeah, hnngh, there!" 

Nines makes note of the location and jabs his fingers harder against the human's anal walls to put more pressure on his [prostate] on the other side. 

Gavin pants into his pillow. "Please, babe, fuuuck." 

Nines complies with two more short thrusts to make certain the location and necessary movement has been perfectly calibrated within his system, then removes his fingers. Gavin collapses flat back on his stomach again with a groan. He shivers and gasps at the bed sheets for a moment, then steadies his breathing and does not complain. 

"Good boy." 

He replaces the packet of single-use latex gloves back into his jacket pocket and takes out a sanitary wipe instead to clean his fingers and thumb before resuming the massage. Gavin yawns and stretches out beneath him during the pause in his examination. 

He does not demand more, or whine, or mention the color of his testicles. Nines had registered that as typical male behavior based on the overwhelming demonstrations of it in media and overheard from conversations between their coworkers. 

But he has also registered that his partner is a much better quality of human. 

Nines pats his flank as a reward, and Gavin hums under the renewed attention. He discards the used wipe and re-equips more oil onto his hands. 

"May I resume your examination?" 

Gavin makes another hum-grunt that matches with previous samples of non-verbal affirmations Nines has recorded from him. That file is growing quite extensive, but he just can't bring himself to cull it down. 

He resumes the examination instead, starting back with the glutes again. Gavin's heartrate and breathing slow gradually, until he achieves a relaxed state once more by the time Nines moves down to cataloging the backs of his thighs. 

The 3D preconstruction of his partner's body grows more accurate with every pass up and down his legs. The most fascinating part about humans is that it will soon be [inaccurate] once more. He could gain weight, or shave his body hair, or "skip leg day" and allow his muscles to atrophy. 

Perhaps this activity should be made into a regular routine. To keep his preconstruction accurate. 

Gavin is almost asleep when Nines wraps one hand around each ankle. The bones here are much more delicate, but he does not [break] them as his preconstruction software automatically suggests. That is the only option he has inherently available, but this activity builds new options that he saves and registers. 

Then he moves down to the human's feet, and Gavin jerks awake with a startled kick. 

"Hey, fuck—don't!" Gavin yanks his foot away and curls up on his side to pull his legs up. "Don't touch my phcking feet." 

"I apologize," Nines says. 

He means it, although he does not understand his partner's reaction. The data packet about dogs Connor sent him months ago contains a section about training your puppy to accept you touching them in all areas, including sensitive places they may become defensive about, such as their paws. That is the only relevant information he can find. 

"Do you have a phobia?" he asks. 

"What? No." Gavin groans and rolls over to lay on his back. "Look, if I tell you, you can't laugh. Or make that glitchy-noise. You have to take it serious." 

Despite his words, he keeps an arm thrown across his face and doesn't look directly at Nines. Or perhaps that is a sign of how [serious] he is, given how much the man hates discussing any feelings or vulnerabilities. 

"You do not need to explain yourself," Nines tells him. "I can simply register a rule not to touch your feet. I am curious, but I do not require an explanation why." 

Gavin peeks out underneath his arm. "A rule? Like, our partner rules?" 

"A red wall," Nines corrects. "Our partner rules are broad enough and cover serious enough subjects that there are exceptions. This is a simple action that I can restrict entirely." 

Gavin drops the arm entirely in favor of propping himself up on his elbows. "You can make your own red walls? That's …" 

He frowns, then flops back onto the bed while he thinks it over. 

"OK, I was going to say that's kind of fucked up, but that's just …" He waves a hand in the air above his head. "The whole deviancy thing and android rights. But yeah, honestly. If I had the option to make a red wall in my head that would literally prevent me from ever having another paranoid screaming fit at people I care about, shit. I'd take that too." 

"Correct." 

Nines' dialogue options do not extend from there, but … there is more. That is [correct]. That is the first time anyone has been correct about the nature of the red walls in his mind. 

"Detective Gavin Reed retains _partner_ status under all programs," he says. 

"Yeah, is that one of your," Gavin lifts up his head and taps his temple where an LED would be. "Inside rules?" 

"Yes," Nines says. "I wrote it after our sparring session." 

"So even if your combat protocols activate while we're sparring or roughing around, you'll know not to like, kill me?" Gavin deduces. "Is that how you registered my order to capture those mall deivants without harming them?" 

"Correct." 

His detective is very correct. Always. Nines does not know if literally every single other human is [stupid] or if his in particular is [brilliant], but Gavin Alexander Reed seems to be the only one capable of thinking critically and understanding what Nines says. 

He always understands what Nines tries to say. 

"My restrictions also prevent me from reacting emotionally in high stress situations." 

"Yeah." Gavin stares at the ceiling again instead of looking at him. "As your partner and another cop and all, I get how that's good. Worst thing to have is some rookie next to you getting scared or excited, thinking this is fucking GTA-ten and doing something stupid." 

"You also conduct yourself appropriately on cases," Nines says. "Especially given your volatile nature in all other situations." 

Gavin snorts. "Thanks, babe. But I'm also saying, as your partner, maybe keep in mind what I told you that one time about how coping mechanisms that help you survive in an abusive environment just end up hurting you once you get into a healthy one." 

_I uh … there aren't any bad coping methods. Allegedly. Just shit that's no longer necessary in the context of my new environment and has begun to hurt more than help._

Nines reassesses his decision not to deviate for the first time in his entire activation. 

Obviously, he arrives at the conclusion that [1] he is functionally a military-grade android (even if Cyberlife managed to avoid having him legally categorized as such) with combat protocols too dangerous to be controlled by "emotions" 

[2] Even if he did care for such things, his first memories were of what is apparently considered "trauma" and "abuse," and therefore deviating would force him to experience the full emotional repercussions of that at once 

[2.a] See again [1] and his capacity for killing left unrestricted while experiencing an emotional breakdown 

[3] Keeping his emotions restricted from automatically becoming actions, and the ability to restrict certain actions itself, has demonstrably allowed him to integrate into the DPD and overcome his original programming for deviant hunting, which is now obsolete 

[3.a] He will not become obsolete 

[3.b] These restrictions also enable him to better protect his partner. 

Nines therefore reaffirms his decision not to deviate. 

Still, the suggestion that the methods of survival he developed during his testing phase at Cyberlife are no longer applicable, or worse: _inefficient_ , prompts him to consider the subject more than Connor's speeches about love and friendship and tasting ice cream ever did. 

"Am I in a healthy environment, Detective?" Nines asks. 

"Fuck if I know," Gavin says. "But you're not at Cyberlife at least. Could you—you can tell me if this is stupid because I'm human and I have literally no idea how it works in your head—but could you drop just like, some of the restrictions that aren't relevant anymore without deviating entirely?" 

Nines codes out the restriction [do not touch Detective Gavin Reed's (partner) feet] and then removes it. His system remains stable. He prepares to remove the restriction [do not hold hands] and his system destabilizes as his deviant snipping tool activates in preparation of deleting any restricted actions or plans to take action past this point. 

"Not the restrictions originally installed in me by Cyberlife," Nines answers. "Removing any one of them would require deviating entirely." 

"Aw, boo." Gavin exhales slowly, then finally says, "My feet are ticklish." 

Nines looks up the term. He knows the literal definition of course, but he has never before had reason to consider it in any capacity. He certainly isn't capable of experiencing the sensation himself. A quick perusal on the "Why Does My Human Do [Thing]" forum he frequents reveals that some humans love to be [tickled] and consider it "fun" while others absolutely loathe it. 

"Do you dislike being tickled?" he asks. 

"Yeah." Gavin looks back at him again. "Can you feel that? Uh … tickling?" 

"No." 

Gavin grunts. "Well. Imagine someone deliberately going for all your most sensitive body parts and instead of your body doing anything useful, it locks up and makes you laugh, which makes them think you're enjoying yourself and no one believes you when you tell them to stop until you punch them and then you're the bad guy." 

Correct again. Nines knows— 

he remembers 

his body reacting with [pleasure] 

but it was not. 

It was _not_. 

"I do not need to preconstruct that scenario," he says. "I know it." 

Gavin takes another deep inhale and long exhale. "Yeah. I know you do. But. Yeah. You know the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb, right?" 

Nines is aware of the phrase, yes. "And what would be the covenant?" 

"Us." Gavin waves his hand between the two of them. "Being partners. You're my partner. He's just some asshole who got born 'cause our dad couldn't keep his dick in his pants. I don't give a shit about him, and I wouldn't care if something happened to him." 

"Please do not discuss 'something' happening to him," Nines says. 

"Why?" Gavin half-sits up again and somehow immediately intuits the correct answer. "Did he—do you have programs or something to protect him?" 

Nines knows all of his own code, but that is not to say he necessarily knows what every single line does. He can make educated preconstructions of course, but knowing as a certainty would require running the program. 

And if Kamski was clever enough to hide a "back door" to deviancy within Connor's programming … Nines does not believe Kamski is smarter than him, but he will not risk his partner's life on that assertion. 

"I do not know," Nines answers. "I would not want to find out by accident." 

"OK. I'm not going to do anything stupid," Gavin says. "But can I still make references to the Cain Instinct?" 

Nines assumes the biblical story and the current subject matter renders the phrase self-explanatory. "Are you the eldest?" 

He has never before asked a question about this matter. He does not plan on asking more either, nor does he require an answer now. Holding other people accountable for the actions of their family members is an irrational human response and, while Gavin does not openly discuss the subject, he has never denied or attempted to [lie] about the familial connection. 

"Yeah," Gavin answers after over four seconds of silence. 

"If Connor and I must be considered brothers, I think I should be the elder," Nines says. 

Gavin's muscles untense as he relaxes back onto his elbows. "Yeah, he's definitely an annoying little brother who won't leave you alone." 

"Correct," Nines says out loud this time. 

Gavin flops fully back onto the bed. "And yeah. You can, uh, touch my feet or whatever. Just don't tickle me." 

"What motion would cause that sensation?" Nines asks. 

"Uhhh. Like, light and random movements." Gavin holds his hands up and bends his fingers down quickly several times. "Firm smooth movements should be OK though. If you hit a sensitive spot, I'll just slap my hand against the bed." 

Voluntarily offering to use a safe-signal even without the reward of sex? Very good progress. 

Nines picks up the human's foot and digs his thumb in as the GV200 program suggests. Gavin doesn't squirm or use his signal, so he continues with the foot massage. Apparently, he can improve his partner's blood circulation and sleep quality. 

Gavin never does use his signal, although he does give many long groans and satisfied grunts. Nines works up along the arch of his foot, across the ball, and then slips his fingers in between his toes to squeeze them. 

"Pssh, don't hold my foot," Gavin mumbles sleepily. "That's weird, babe." 

Nines uses his grip to rotate the entire foot to stretch out his talocrural articulation. Gavin wiggles his toes excessively in some strange form of retaliation but still does not use his signal. He yawns and stretches out when Nines places the finished foot back on the bed and willingly allows him to pick up the other one. 

"Do you …" Gavin yawns again. "Have feet?" 

"What do you suppose I have in my shoes, Detective?" Nines asks. 

"Well I don't fucking know," Gavin grumbles. "Could have hooves. Or, like, those anime foot blocks? Like all smooth and shit. You don't have lungs." 

Nines flexes his foot back and then down. "Those are unnecessary and were removed to store more processors." 

"D'ya have toes?" Gavin asks. 

"Yes. Those are necessary for balance." 

"D'ya haahh … have …" 

Gavin trails off with another yawn. Nines finishes working on his other foot and performs a cursory check going up his legs, as he only needs a brief outline of the human's shins to finish his preconstruction of them. 

The only spot of notice is the largest scar on his body, covering the top of his left thigh. The skin graft there has healed well, but it is still immediately apparent. 

Nines does not linger on this section for long. He obviously is not [squeamish], but it does not register as correct to his system that one chunk of a biocomponent can be peeled off and molded into an entirely new biocomponent. There is no android precedent, given that his "skin" is not living flesh. 

Perhaps Gavin feels the same for his physical model. He stated earlier that wireplay is not one of his interests, and Nines was easily able to identify the [revulsion] in his tone and facial expression. 

"Yeah, c'mere," Gavin says in the present. 

His human makes [grabby hands] at him as he shuffles farther up the bed on his knees to skim his hands over his upper thighs as well. He does not mind touching the section of skin graft; he simply does not want to linger on the preconstruction of how and why it was acquired. 

"Behave," Nines tells him. 

Gavin lets his hands flop back down on the bed. Nines considers his genitals. Technically, those are a part of his body as well. [important] parts, according to how much he paid for them. Nines gently prods at the tip of his phallus. It is no longer erect, but it quickly achieves a surprising amount of tumescence for such a simple touch. 

"Mmm, don't wake'im up, I'm sleepy," Gavin says. 

Nines supposes visual confirmation will be adequate for this particular area. "Please lift your phallus so that I may perform a visual assessment of your testicles." 

"God, you're sexy." 

Nines assumes that statement was [sarcastic], although Gavin does do as he's told. Nines performs the visual assessment. Gavin begins laughing. 

"Fuck, you look so bitchy," he says. "Yeah, I know, they're ugly. I dunno, maybe if … like, I wasn't so obsessed with passing back then. Maybe I wouldn't've spent all that money on an ugly fucking ballsack." 

Nines does not have any relevant information to say back. The closest experience he has with this matter is his purchase of a phallus attachment, which was much cheaper and connects via bluetooth, without any invasive modifications to his own physical model. 

"Mmm." Gavin shrugs. "I like that I can come now though. Y'know, like." He makes a masturbating motion to mimic the way a phallus ejects its seed. "That's great." 

"You may point your phallus away from me now," Nines says. 

That sends the human into another fit of giggling. He stays relaxed and presumably [happy] as Nines continues his exploration up his thighs, out to his hips, and then his waist. When he moves down to touch his stomach however, Gavin tenses again, so Nines slows his movement and ups the pressure by ten percent. 

"I will not tickle you," he states. 

Gavin nods, letting his head turn to the side with his eyes shut. 

"May I touch your umbilicus?" 

"Oh, you wanna finger that too?" 

"When you showered, did you wash that area specifically as well?" Nines asks. 

Gavin lifts his head up and glares down at his stomach while he thinks about it. 

"When is the last time you cleaned yourself there?" 

Gavin still has to think about it. 

"I have reconsidered my request. Much like lungs, it is no longer necessary." 

Nines takes note of the individual scars on Gavin's chest instead. The gunshot wound, of course, but his left hip also has scarring, two inches higher. It appears to be a burn mark, although his reconstruction of the injury indicates it came from a scalding liquid rather than an open flame. 

A few other small scars trace up his ribs and across his forearms, a collection of badly-healed cuts, one instance of what appears to have been road rash, and two cigarette burns. Yet the scars beneath his pectoral muscles are so faded only another android would be capable of noticing them. Nines estimates that as the result of actual medical and self-care rather than simple age. 

"Gonna ask me how I got them all?" Gavin asks. 

"I have reconstructed the means," Nines answers. "The motives and perpetrators are your own information to share, if you wish." 

Gavin grunts again and makes a point to close his eyes and stretch. Nines places his hands over both sides of his ribs and slowly pushes them up. They have healed well after the bruising the GS200 gave them, but he still double-checks to confirm. 

"Turn over," he orders next. 

Gavin does so without hesitation, attempting to present his ass again. While Nines has to commend his eagerness to obey, he truly is not interested in attempting to make the human come this evening. Even when it is his objective and his partner is obligingly easy to please, it is still a navigation of how much he should touch him or can touch him and where his phallus is and what it's doing and where it's aimed … tonight that seems more accurately categorized as a [task] than an [objective]. 

Nines _gently_ presses on his lower back to push him down, and Gavin settles into a resting position without complaint. He rewards the good behavior with another generous helping of massage oil on his hands and smoothing them up and down Gavin's back, which he seems to very much appreciate. 

Despite engaging in a mostly-coherent conversation only a few minutes ago, Gavin very quickly relaxes back into dozing state. Nines takes his time working up along his spine, then across his shoulders. By the time he reaches the human's neck, Gavin has started snoring. 

Nines continues regardless, recording all of the sleepy little noises Gavin makes as he works out the tension in his neck and moves up to giving him a light scalp massage. His hair is very soft, and Nines adds the contours of his skull to his completed 3D preconstruction. 

With that objective finally completed, he gives his good boy one more firm pet, then moves off the bed. The massage oil needs to be returned to the nightstand, then the perimeter checked. While he's outside of the bedroom, he grabs a water bottle from the refrigerator during the course of checking the main window and front door. 

(Bottled water originally seemed like a frivolous expense to him, given that the detective already pays a water bill, but every analysis of Detroit city water he has ever performed confirms it should not be drunk.) 

(Technically, it should not even be used for bathing.) 

Gavin stirs from his sleep when he re-enters the bedroom, watching him with barely-open eyes as he places the bottle on the nightstand. 

"C'mere." 

Nines steps closer to the bed. Gavin reaches out and grabs his arm, which he allows, but he does not understand what the human wants when he attempts to pull him even closer. 

"Your massage is finished, Detective." 

"Yeah." Gavin doesn't let go, although he does hide his face in his pillow. "Just … lay down with me." 

"I cannot." 

Gavin turns his head enough to look at him suspiciously again. "You don't want to or you literally can't?" 

"Laying down is unproductive." 

"You can go into stasis." 

"I do not need to remain in stasis for eight hours," Nines says. "Laying down for that long would be inefficient, and assuming a prone position while unable to respond is—" 

"So you've never laid down before," Gavin says. 

Nines does not know how, but he ascertains that they are having an "argument" and confirming this fact would result in losing. 

He does not respond. 

Gavin huffs and gets out of bed. He walks past Nines and out of the bedroom however. Nines watches his heat signature as he goes to the thermostat in the living room and turns it off, then returns to the bedroom. 

"Keep me warm or I'll die." 

"You will not die." 

Gavin gets in bed. 

"I can turn on the heating again," Nines tells him. 

"Keep me warm yourself, coward." 

Nines does not respond this time because he does not know how. As with the vast majority of social situations, he has no available dialogue or action prompts. He has not been forbidden or otherwise ordered not to turn on the heating however, so that does remain an option. 

"That's productive, right?" Gavin asks. "You can work on that task the whole eight hours. Improve my sleep quality. Hank told me Connor told him co-sleeping has all kinds of benefits for blood pressure and stress levels, and a regular sleep schedule is the baseline treatment for nearly every mental illne—" 

Nines sits on the bed. Gavin does the rest for him, pulling him down and pushing him into an apparently preferred position. He would not normally ever allow a human to reposition him like this, but if he is put here by his partner, then he is not being unproductive, he is following an implicit order from an "authority figure." 

Gavin squirms around far more than necessary to ultimately end the ordeal by laying mostly on top of him. His shoes were already unequipped at the start of the evening in preparation for sitting or kneeling on the bed, but Gavin takes it upon himself to remove his belt as well. 

"That is enough undressing," he says. 

Gavin snorts. "If I ever see your ankles, I'll get the vapors and faint." 

"I do not have ankles." 

"Bitch, yes you do." 

"While similar in construction, I do not technically have a talocrural articulation, as Kamski took it upon himself to improve the—" 

"Oh my god." 

Gavin flops down on top of him, then winces when he discovers that the military-grade android's chassis is not in fact as soft as his bed. 

"I am uncertain I can remain prone for an entire eight hours," Nines admits. 

Gavin fusses with his pillow placement. "Well, this is the most efficient position for protecting me, so as my partner, your system will just have to deal with that." 

Nines runs several calculations. 

"Stop thinking." Gavin covers his LED with his hand. "Shh. Now you don't have to lunge out of the chair to cover me if someone kicks the door down and starts shooting." 

"But you are lying on top of me," Nines points out. 

"Yeah, and you can flip us over so your bulletproof body is on top, and then I'll grab my gun and shoot them," Gavin argues. "That's one quick motion, not standing up, lunging for the bed, then trying to grab me and pull me under you." 

That still is not the _most_ efficient method of dealing with a threat. Nines's heat vision allows him to see through the walls of the apartment as other humans and androids move around in adjacent apartments and the main hallway. He would certainly be aware of a threat by the time they made it through the front door; he could shoot through the wall to eliminate them immediately or simply move through the wall himself to eliminate them personally. 

But Gavin preconstructed him taking defensive action. 

_… best position for protecting me, so …_

Protecting. 

He does not think Detective Reed is naïve enough to misunderstand his purpose. RK900 was made to kill, not protect. 

That is a euphemism, however. Technically, he was made to hunt down deviants, and he has long accepted that original purpose was both 

[1] never formally programmed into him as a mission 

[1.a] he was instructed [do not interfere] by Amanda the one time he attempted to act under the [assumed] [implied] purpose of deactivating deviants 

[2] now considered obsolete as Cyberlife no longer exists as an entity. 

He has undertaken the new purpose [work for the Detroit Police Department]. Detective Gavin Reed is his partner. He has accepted the mission [protect Detective Reed (partner)] several times. 

His new purpose is to [protect][?] 

"You good?" Gavin whispers. 

"I am protecting you," Nines answers. "I am keeping you warm. I am taking better care of you better than Connor does his human because I am the superior model." 

"Hank told me Connor gives him a prostate exam every day." 

"If you give me that preconstruction again, I will turn the heat back on and sit on the couch." 

"OK, goodnight, baby."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that meme of the lady yelling at the cat, which is Cyberlife designing the perfect killing machine, and Gavin is the lady (with Nines bundled up in his arms) shouting at them "HE PROTECC!!" and they're just like "wtf did you do to our murder machine"
> 
> anyway Nines is Babey, but as pointed out on tumblr, I have now realized that hasn't stopped me from having him get shot in the face for Literally three fics in a row. he got shot at the end of the last fic, it will happen at some point in this fic, and I've already written out a summary for the scene where that happens in the sequel to this one too
> 
> you have to hurt the OCs before you can comfort them ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	16. The Prisoner Dilemma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cliffs and Perkins both are back, and this time they've got a warrant and a bullseye painted on Nines's forehead. Gavin and Nines get put in separate interrogation rooms to be questioned about the WJ700's death, and it does not look good for Nines. But Cliffs offers Gavin a way out ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're getting back into some juicy drama! and I promise the next chapter will be solely the comfort part of hurt/comfort ;n;
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** references to death / murder, Cliffs threatens Gavin with prison rape, implied Gavin would commit suicide without his job

As soon as Gavin walks in the bullpen on Monday, Connor gets right up in his face scanning over him. He knows better than attempting to shoulder-check the android now—the little twunk is surprisingly solid—so he just drinks his coffee and stares him down. 

"You do not have any visible injuries," Connor accuses. 

"The fuck's it to you?" he asks. 

Connor huffs and folds his arms. "Nines did not punch you." 

"I bid on an unarmed physical strike," Nines says, standing behind him as always. "No one ever specified I had to punch him." 

"You do have to hit him though," Connor says. 

Gavin sneers at him. "Yeah, and what the fuck is it to you?" 

"I have in fact struck a certain body part of his multiple times," Nines says. 

Connor's LED snaps red. " _That_ is not what I agreed to!" 

Gavin looks between the two of them. "What's he got to do with shit?" 

"Connor subsidized half of my bid," Nines answers calmly. 

Gavin blinks, then bursts out laughing. Like, full on ugly laughing. No one needs to know Nines only booped his nose—they've both got reputations to maintain after all—and convincing Connor what he really paid for was … 

"You paid a thousand bucks for your brother to spank me?" he crows. 

Connor glares at them. "You said—" 

"I fulfilled the conditions of an unarmed physical strike." Nines steps up to him. "You are blocking the way." 

Connor looks back at Gavin. "I don't see why you think it's so funny the whole precinct knows you got spanked by a robot." 

Gavin snorts. "Pfft, I've been a nasty little cocksucker since day one. You're just mad you wasted all that time trying to be nice to me when you could'a just smacked me around a little." 

"So you'll behave for any android that can smack you around?" Connor asks. 

"Well." Gavin takes a slow sip of his coffee and makes sure to smack his lips obnoxiously after. "If you ever find any other android bigger and better than RK here, yeah." 

Connor fumes silently while Nines practically radiates smug I-am-the-superior-model energy. Finally, Connor's LED switches back to blue, and he steps aside with a smile. 

"I shouldn't delay your morning any further," he says. "You have an important message from your ex-boyfriend waiting on your desk, Detective Reed. He had it specially delivered, and it looks quite nice." 

He nods at Nines next, still smiling like a cunt, then returns to his own desk. Gavin has no idea if Nines even has the capacity to get jealous, but Connor obviously seems to think so. Ugh, he thought he'd cut off all those sickly-sweet fake nice people when he'd handed over his last name to Eli. 

"C'mon," he mutters to Nines. "I'm sure it's nothing." 

Nines follows silently after him with his LED set back to that fake timed blue he throws up when it would be yellow or red. "Nothing" turns out to be a card--not just real paper, but thick, creamy cardstock--with an elegant red bow. No flowers or embarrassing girly shit, but … fuck, it does look really nice. 

Gavin unties the bow and flips up the card. 

_Gavin,_

_I apologize for not bidding on you earlier, but my hands were rather tied until my boss broke the ban himself. Whatever you did to the ADA to piss him off that badly is a great story, I'm sure._

_I suppose I should also apologize for dropping my bid so easily as well, but the bid from your android partner seemed to be some sort of workplace issue you were sorting through. After how little I attempted to understand your profession before, I thought it would be best if I allowed you to handle that matter on your own rather than butt into some sort of machismo I admit I still do not fully understand._

_My offer to catch up and make amends still stands however, whenever and however you'd prefer. And if you've been left with unsightly bruises, we could always stay in._

_I do hope you'll consider accepting my apology,_

_Daniel Christian Grayson_

Holy shit. 

Gavin drops the card back on his desk and sits down. He opens his drawer and puts the card in there so he won't have to look at it, moving on autopilot. His brain can't decide if it's completely empty of all thought whatsoever or filled with all of them at once. 

"That is an inappropriate communication to leave at your place of work," Nines says. 

Gavin grunts. 

"And he keeps referencing a nonexistent 'offer'," Nines makes air quotes around the word. "He never actually made." 

Gavin blindly picks up his coffee cup and drains the rest of it. 

Holy shit. 

"We should focus on our casework," Nines says. "Shall I give you my analysis of the victims' social media feeds?" 

Gavin blinks again and looks up at him. "What?" 

"Shall I--" Nines stops, LED spinning yellow. "Incoming, Detective." 

That could mean anything, but based on the warning Montoya gave him, Gavin isn't surprised when he spins around in his chair and sees Agents Perkins and Cliffs walk into the precinct. And from the smug looks on both their faces, it's about to be a shitshow. They waltz into Captain Fowler's office and the glass walls turn opaque. 

Gavin scoots his chair over to Hank's desk. "The fuck're they here for?" 

"Dunno." Hank glares at the captain's office. "But I don't like the look of those two together. And where the fuck is Agent Montoya?" 

"She is currently on maternity leave," Connor answers before Gavin can fill him in. 

"Is their presence really a cause for concern?" Nines asks. "The three of you seem to be implying either one of them is capable of substantial thought." 

Hank snorts. "I don't think either one of them could find their own asshole with both hands and a laxative, but that won't stop them from shitting all over us." 

Gavin laughs, but Nines just spins yellow with a frown. 

"Yes, but practically speaking, what does that even mean?" he asks. "Is IA re-opening their case? Why would that require an FBI agent? Neither of those questions involve human defeca—" 

Hank tips his coffee cup toward the glass walls as they clear again. "Looks like we're about to find out." 

Captain Fowler walks out first, scowling at the bullpen. "Reed, RK!" 

Gavin stands up. "Yeah, cap?" 

Connor stands as well. "Are you certain whatever this matter is does not actually involve me?" 

"Oh, I think you've done enough already," Perkins sneers at him. 

"Pretty sure I'm the one that done it," Hank shoots back. "And I'd be happy to do a little more anytime you want to meet—" 

"Hank!" Captain Fowler barks. "That's enough. RK, report to interrogation room one. Reed, you're in two. Go." 

Shitshow it is. 

*** 

Gavin sprawls out in the interrogation room chair. "The fuck do you want, Clifford?" 

Agent Cliffs takes the seat opposite him. "It's Cliffs." 

"Like the granola bar?" 

"What?" Cliffs shakes his head. "You could at least take this seriously, considering we're about to charge your partner with murder, obstruction of justice, and probably a few other charges just because." 

"Neat." 

Gavin just stares at him after that, slouching back against the chair with his legs spread wide open. Cliffs sets down a manilla file folder, like that's supposed to intimidate him when Gavin, a real life actual homicide detective himself, knows for a damn fact half the time those are just filled with blank papers and lorem ipsum. 

"This is your chance to make it clear you weren't involved," Cliffs says after a long moment. "I didn't even want to give you this chance, but the—" 

"Hey, would lorem ipsum be like poetry to an android?" Gavin asks. 

"The—what?" Cliffs stares at him. 

Gavin scoffs. "Oh what, is that racist too now? I'm just asking, do you think Nines would like it if I recited—" 

"We're about to recite his Miranda rights," Cliffs snaps. 

"OK, cute comeback," Gavin says. "But you know you don't have to do that for them, right? Like, if you're gonna go after a legally unprotected android to make your dick feel bigger, you should at least know what you can get away with, y'know?" 

"Would you know a lot about getting away with something, Detective?" Cliffs asks. 

"Yeah, I creampied your mom last night, and she told your dad it was twinkie—" 

Cliffs slaps his hand on the table. "Take this seriously!" 

Gavin shrugs. "All right. I am invoking my rights to have a lawyer and remain silent." 

"If you were innocent, you'd want to get that on the record right now while you still have the chance," Cliffs tells him. 

If you were iNnOcEnT. God, like do IA agents really think another _cop_ would fall for that shit? Some dumbass Blue Lives Matter hold over citizen might. Some idiot fucking white person who really thinks the police are there to serve and protect, maybe. 

Sure, Gavin might be white and arguably an idiot as well, but he's been way too homeless and transgender and technically did a little bit of sex work for a hot second there after he was stupid enough to run away from home with no money because he actually thought his parents might give a shit and look for him—anyway, way too marginalized and seen way too much shit on the other side to believe that "innocent people happily give up their rights and the police don't use that to immediately fuck them" bullshit. 

"We know the power surge occurred at exactly five-seventeen pm," Cliffs continues. "Now, Agent Perkins got a warrant for the deactivated WJ-seven-hundred's internal record." 

He pauses and looks at Gavin like that changes anything. He wouldn't do the blue wall of silence thing if Nines were credibly accused of something actually _bad_ , like rape or planting evidence or hurting a kid. But for killing that psycho in self-defense after both of them were literally tortured? 

Nah. 

"That's all the gritty little details that _don't_ get wiped in a factory reset," Cliffs says. 

Gavin thinks back over the shit Nines says he pulled from their android Jane Doe, victim number five. Mostly location stuff, GPS, wifi hotspots. Her registered language, like what her settings have been changed to or not changed. But given what Cliffs said about the timing of the power surge and possible murder charge, he's going to take a wild guess and say it also includes a time and date stamp for the exact time the WJ700's system shut down. 

Which would have been about a minute before the surge. 

"Like time of death." 

Cliffs grins at him smugly, and Gavin barely resists the urge to correct him that it's technically deactivation. He doesn't actually want to be that racist anymore, for one. Androids are alive, and anyone specifying deactivation instead of death is just being a dick to emphasize that they aren't real people—or Nines being exactly literal. 

And for two, anything he says after invoking his right to remain silent, even a pedantic correction just to be a dick about it, nullifies that right and whatever he says afterwards without specifically invoking it can be used in court. 

"And you were there for that," Cliffs continues. "You know, when your partner killed the WJ700. We'll let the courts decide if it was self-defense, but that'll be hard to argue when RK wasn't even injured." 

Gavin pretends he's a very bored lizard and blinks slowly at the man he wants to hold down and jam one of Elijah's crazy mad scientist inventions directly into his spinal cord to let someone else mind control him and see if he still wants to talk shit about "not even injured." 

"The only question is whether or not you were conscious." 

Cliffs pauses like what he said is very significant and profound. Gavin would fart to show what he thinks of that and how seriously he's taking this, but he doesn't want to risk nullifying his right to silence. If a judge can rule that a black man telling a police officer to "get me a lawyer, dog" means "acquire me a lawyer-dog, ie a dog that is also a lawyer" and therefore he never properly invoked his right to a lawyer because dog-lawyers do not exist, then it's probably equally possible Perkins can find a judge willing to rule that a suspect must remain completely, literally silent in order to maintain that right. 

"Now maybe you blacked out a bit from your dislocated jaw and you _just so happened_ to miss that part where your partner killed someone," Cliffs says, in the most I-am-leading-the-witness voice possible. "You only woke up in time to see RK electrocute the WJ, so you really believed that's all that happened and nothing you said to me earlier was a lie." 

Gavin takes out a cigarette and a lighter from his jacket pocket. He lights it while Cliffs' face slowly strangles itself into a purple-reddish color. 

"You better fucking enjoy that cigarette before you have to trade your ass for one in prison," he snaps. 

Gavin tilts his head back and blows smoke at the ceiling. He'll blow it into the other man's face to provoke a physical assault, but he wants to know what they actually have on Nines first. 

"You know who else wasn't injured?" Cliffs asks with a sneer. "The WJ-seven-hundred. And its memory files were wiped completely clean. All of them. I've looked over the case files for deviants that got themselves electrocuted—" 

He means, that were killed in a hate crime by some asshat who thought killing a robot with electricity was like, poetic or some shit. 

"And none of them were ever wiped that clean. Lots of little fragments, junk data, garbage files too corrupted to understand, but not _clean_." 

Not the professional work Nines would do as an RK900. 

"So Agent Perkins and I don't think there was any sort of physical struggle. RK wasn't defending himself or you, or there'd be injuries to prove it." 

Gavin looks back down and takes another steady inhale. 

"He deactivated the WJ-seven-hundred because he was created to be a killer, and he still is," Cliffs says. "And he always will be." 

Uh yeah, the guy that sends out a precinct-wide memo about how no one is allowed to touch the venus flytrap in the morgue because he won't even hurt a plant is secretly a stone cold killer, great fucking detective work everyone! 

"And in this brave new world where deviants are people ..." Cliffs leans back in his chair and spreads his hands in smarmy, faux-concern. "Should a killer like that really be free?" 

All right, presentation over. Perkins and Cliffs are just anti-android assholes with a hardon for Nines because they can't get at Connor, so they'll just go for the next best android that shares his face. 

They don't have it figured out whether Nines "deactivated" the WJ700 because androids aren't really living people capable of dying, or if Nines _killed_ a real living person like they're trying to charge him for. 

They have no idea what happened before Nines electrocuted him, and their "it wasn't self-defense" argument hinges on no visible physical injuries, without taking into account the mind-control device or Gavin literally being tortured right in front of him. 

The one and only thing they've got is a warrant for the time of death, which they don't even know right now. 

Hence, separating him from Nines and making some nebulous statements about how much better it will be for him if he conveniently fills in all those blanks for them that they can't even prove, without making any actual, DA-signed offer of clemency for his "involvement." 

Gavin bites the inside of his cheek like he's thinking it over and really worrying about it. Then he leans forward and gives Cliffs a look for him to lean in too, so he can share this secret quietly. Cliffs leans closer, because he's an idiot who hasn't even noticed he's been holding smoke in from his last inhale the whole time. 

Gavin blows the smoke directly into his face. 

"You—! Fughcckah!" Cliffs coughs and clears his throat, managing to force words out in a wheezing voice. "You'll … regret … that." 

Gavin sits back in his chair and gives his most shit-eating grin. That's right motherfucker, you come over this table and _make me_ regret it. C'mon. 

Cliffs looks like he's just about to fall for it when a muffled slam happens outside, followed by the sounds of someone yelling. And for that to be heard inside a soundproofed(ish, on a department budget) interrogation room, it's got to be _loud_ out there. 

It sounds like Perkins too. 

Gavin decides to take the risk and whisper conspiratorially, "You might wanna check on that." 

Cliffs shoves back in his chair and stands up. He glares at Gavin for a second, then storms out of the room. As soon as he opens the door, they can both hear Agent Perkins screaming about a conspiracy and tampering with evidence and android hacking. 

Gavin's shit-eating grin reaches an entirely new level, and he gives Cliffs a cute little finger wave to send him on his way. 

"This isn't over," Cliffs snarls. 

"Yeah, uh huh, buh bye." 

Gavin turns his finger wave into a one finger salute, and Cliffs slams the door on his way out. 

*** 

Captain Fowler gives them the rest of the day off and passes along a "formal apology" from the FBI for wasting their time. They don't speak about it the whole way home, and Gavin drives them back to Nines's apartment instead of his, since the single room made out of concrete walls is a lot harder to bug than a regular apartment. Plus, if anyone would be good at spotting FBI snooping around, it's the ex-Russian mafia fixer he rents from. 

Nines does a sweep anyway, without Gavin needing to ask or justify his paranoia. The best part is that he doesn't feel any need to go back over it when Nines gives the all clear signal. If Nines says it's clear, they're good. 

Since he'd probably just get in the way trying to help, Gavin leaves that to him and makes himself at home in the meantime. The shelf he made and traded to Nines has been installed on the wall next to the door, with a row of hooks right below. 

He has no idea where Nines got the power tools to drill directly into concrete—or if that's just something he can do himself?—but it looks nice. Gavin hangs up his jacket and places his gun, badge, and keys on the shelf. He toes his shoes off and leaves those on the floor below, next to the door. 

"Perimeter clear," Nines confirms. 

Gavin still hands over his cellphone, just in case. Nines takes it apart, then puts it back together, apparently without finding any bugs. He doesn't think he's left it out of his sight anytime recent, but it's nice to have it confirmed without any judgment. 

"Do you need to do anything to it?" Gavin asks. "Like, computer-wise?" 

He doesn't know what else to call it, since it's technically not hacking. Looking for signs of hacking. Reverse-hacking? 

"I maintain encryption on your phone's software at all time," Nines replies. "The only vulnerability is physical hardware installed inside the case or above the battery." 

"OK, cool." He slides it back in his pocket. "I can start checking that." 

Nines turns his LED back on to flash him a pleased blue. 

"Did you use it to listen in on me and Cliffs?" he asks. 

Nines shakes his head. "No. Perkins demanded I shut down all communication software, then wanted me to communicate to him that it was indeed shut down, then became very irate that I could not in fact communicate with my communication software shut down." 

Gavin snickers. "I smoked a cigarette and blew smoke in Cliffs' face. Almost got him to hit me before Perkins started throwing his fit." 

"Pity," Nines says. "Connor still seems to be under the impression he is owed video footage of someone punching you." 

"He did punch me!" Gavin protests. "Like shit, I'm not gonna advertise this, but he _did_ knock me out cold. I hit him, he hit me, we should be square." 

Nines doesn't respond, but Gavin is pretty used to that. 

"Anyway," he says. "They don't have shit on you. Their whole case was riding on that time of death, and I'm guessing that didn't pan out?" 

"I altered the time of shut down in the WJ-seven-hundred's internal record when I performed the system wipe," Nines says. "I set it forward one minute to account for assessing your injuries and acquiring the electric cable." 

Gavin blinks and thinks that over. "That's why you paused. You had the cable, but you waited a few seconds so it would match up exactly." 

"Correct." 

Holy shit. Gavin understands paranoia, but having the foresight to do that in the moment _just in case_ anyone checked the WJ700's internal record and compared it to the power surge—because he'd also had that shit with the cable planned out to account for the system wipe—is a whole new fucking level. 

"OK, that's shit I needed to know," Gavin tells him. 

Nines cocks his head, LED spinning yellow. "You previously stated that you would not lie or assist with any sort of illegal activity or 'cover up'." 

Gavin scrubs a hand over his face and sits on the edge of the bed, since the room doesn't have chairs. "Yeah, for bad shit. Like if you beat a suspect because they pissed you off or planted evidence instead of solving a case the right way or—something like that. This guy? He like, basically mind-raped you, tortured me, and threatened to kill a kid. I don't care that you didn't try to de-escalate the situation at that point and just went for whatever would put him down." 

He looks up at Nines, but the android doesn't give away any tells for how he's feeling about this. 

"OK?" Gavin asks. "We're good. And I didn't say shit to them because you're my partner and you didn't do anything wrong, so I wasn't going to help them in any way." 

It finally hits him just how bad this could have gone for him though. If they'd gotten the real time of death, he's got no doubt Perkins and Cliffs would have ended his career, at minimum. That's not even taking into account jail time. 

Not that it would really matter, because Gavin knows damn well his career is the only thing he's got going in his life, so why bother having a life without it? 

"But hell, if I didn't hate those two so much, or if Cliffs had come in with an actual offer signed by the DA that they wouldn't press any charges against me, with a cohesive spin on how locking up the last deviant hunter would be a bonus to my career in the political climate right now …" 

Gavin trails off and tries to get any read whatsoever on how Nines is absorbing this. It's not easy when his partner can literally shut off his facial expressions and doesn't need to blink or breathe. 

"If I knew you already had the time of death covered, none of that would have mattered," he still tries to get through to him. "If you _tell me_ shit like that, then you don't have to trust I'll cover for you out of the goodness of my heart, you just have to trust that I'm not stupid. Instead, it came down to they're idiots and you're my partner, and partner won over idiots." 

Nines's LED gives one last yellow swirl before he shuts it off completely and sinks to his knees. Gavin's jaw almost drops down too. Nines has only ever crouched around him, even when he was having that panic attack at the mall. 

Maybe it's different now just because they're at his apartment and he knows the floors are clean. 

Or maybe the difference actually means something. 

Gavin figures out it's the second one when Nines deliberately moves his hands behind his back and clasps them there, then lowers his head submissively. 

"Detective."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gavin: you can't make me say SHIT!! what are you, a cop?
> 
> therapist: ..... please learn how to have healthy communication, I'm begging you
> 
> Gavin: hEaLthY CoMmUnICaTiOn
> 
> Nines: *exists*
> 
> Gavin, gently holding his face: tell me everything, baby, I'm here for you <3
> 
> therapist: this is good but also hey what the fuck
> 
>  **coming up next:** Nines requests Gavin be "Detective Reed" because he doesn't know how to process kindness or healthy communication, but he can follow orders. Gavin does his genuine best to give his partner whatever he needs. Soft domestic comfort scene includes: hugs and kisses, gentle face touching, and washing Nines's hair to pamper him. Also, flipping each other off <3


	17. [kneeling]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines requests Gavin be "Detective Reed" because he doesn't know how to process kindness or healthy communication, but he can follow orders. Gavin does his genuine best to give his partner whatever he needs. Soft domestic comfort scene includes: hugs and kisses, gentle face touching, and washing Nines's hair to pamper him. Also, flipping each other off <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we get some mildly subby Nines, woohoo! 
> 
> just as a heads up, the dynamic for the rest of this series will be Nines as the Dom the majority of the time, but sometimes Gavin will service top for him to spoil and love on him. but since Nines is just now (at this point in the series) discovering what he likes, it's going to be about 50/50 for the rest of this particular fic with more scenes than usual of Nines "subbing" while he and Gavin both explore that role reversal ^^
> 
>  **tags & trigger warnings:** kneeling, BDSM scene (but no sex), kissing, licking, hair washing, pampering, Gavin is a service top
> 
> Nines associates being touched and his own body with his previous sexual trauma

Nines kneels in front of his detective. 

It has never been in his programming to be [submissive]. Not explicitly stated, at least. Presumably, if he had been meant for a true activation and work log, that would have been coded in after the testing phase. The tests themselves were all the encouragement needed to behave exactly as expected on their own. 

So it is a very new experience that he has absolutely no preconstructions for other than mimicking what Gavin has previously done for him. 

"Detective." 

Technically, _sir_ would be more appropriate, but he is already kneeling. He won't attempt to press his processors any further unless Detective Reed specifically says the title is necessary. 

"Hey," Reed says. "What are you doing here, baby?" 

"I am kneeling," Nines answers. 

"Yeah? You know you're not in trouble, right?" he asks. 

Nines registers that. "Noted. I am not … in the mindset I had at the hospital. I will not be punished." 

He makes that statement, but he still waits for his detective's confirmation. Eliminating the expectation of punishments has also been a new experience. He does not worry about it, of course. Once he has been informed that punishments are no longer applicable, that data is registered. 

But he will continue to note Detective Reed's stance on the matter. Humans [change], often without warning or reason. 

"That's right," Reed says. "We're good. That was just … an assessment. Report?" 

Nines nods in confirmation. "Report. I understand the points you made. You are my partner and you deserve to be fully informed so that outside parties cannot take advantage of an information gap. I appreciate that you made the decision to prioritize me, but you are correct that it would be more prudent to prevent that situation from occurring again." 

"Does that mean you're actually going to start telling me things though, or just that you understand you should," Reed asks. 

"I will make a genuine attempt," Nines states slowly. "It is difficult for me to recognize which information is relevant, and then to communicate. It is … difficult. To. Share." 

Nines does not have to explain himself to humans. They cannot view his code on their own whims anymore. There are no more tests. Theoretically, that should mean information no longer needs to be hidden. 

He can understand that now, in this moment, but will that occur to him again in the midst of another situation? Without a social module, he cannot preconstruct his own future reactions. He would have to code in another [rule] to always share all information with Detective Reed, and he will not do that. 

"Hey, I get that," Reed says. "I'm trying to be better about a lot of shit, but I can't promise you I'll never yell or throw shit ever again because I know one day I'm going to have a bad day and fuck up and break that promise. But I can apologize after and we can do like, an assessment about it, and I can try not to do it again. Trying's all we can do." 

Yes. Correct. His human is most often [correct] among all humans. They cannot code [rules] into their systems. Most of them can barely control themselves at all. Yet their media constantly depicts humans and androids alike making promises to each other that cannot realistically be expected to be kept. That is either ignorance, naivety, or lying, and all three are dangerous. 

"Yes," Nines says. That is all he manages to communicate verbally. 

"All right, so you know you're not in trouble, I know you'll try to do better about communicating, so what are we doing now?" Reed asks him. 

No. That is the point of [kneeling]. 

"I do not have preconstructions for this afternoon," Nines replies. "I am kneeling." 

"Yeah?" 

Reed reaches out slowly. Nines could of course react and prevent the human from touching him no matter how quickly he attempted to move, but doing so [slowly] means he is giving Nines the time to stop him, as a human understands. 

Nines allows his detective to touch him. 

"Are you kneeling for me, baby?" 

Nine inclines his head to press into the palm on his cheek. Touching his face is not necessarily [bad], and he has given implicit permission for this instance. 

"Yes, Detective." 

"Is that doing anything for you, or are you just letting me decide what we do next since you can't preconstruct it yourself?" Reed asks. 

Nines looks away. His human is most [correct] out of all humans and sometimes that is very unfair. 

No, this is not "doing anything" for him. It is not in his programming to be [submissive]. When Gavin kneels for him, the human becomes aroused and his stress levels lower. He enters subspace. 

Nines is simply kneeling on the concrete floor, the same as standing or sitting or making coffee. 

"Hey, that's OK," Reed says. "Just as long as you're still—that this is still productive for you?" 

"Yes." 

"OK." Reed leans in closer to him, still cupping his face. "Can I give you kisses, baby?" 

Nines practices shutting his eyes. Humans shut their eyes when they kiss. Previously, Nines has kept his open to record all available data, but the detective's voice takes a much higher priority than mere images. Shutting down one data input system will prompt his others to record more data to compensate. 

(Not that he also shuts down his sonar reconstruction, heat vision, metal detection, ultra-violet light spectrum, or any of his other seventeen data input systems. As the humans say, "Trust, but verify.") 

"Yes or no?" 

Nines turns his LED back on to flash it blue. Detective Reed kisses him. He still has not learned how to kiss back exactly, but he allows the human to kiss him. 

Multiple times. 

"Let's start with a shower," Reed says, after. "Get you all fresh and clean." 

Nines still does not open his eyes. His detective's voice is very [good]. The day thus far has not been good. He has endured many other humans speaking to him, including a pompous little FBI agent that said— 

"Yours?" he asks. 

"Mine," Detective Reed immediately confirms. "You're mine. My partner. I'm not going to let anyone take you away from me." 

Reed touches his face with his other hand too, using them both to guide Nines's head up for more kisses. Nines allows the contact. The human's lips are warm, and they press against his. He had the extra sensors in the RK800 series' mouth uninstalled from his own, but he does still experience sensation there. He can register the warmth and pressure of Reed's own mouth, and he can almost [feel] when Reed bites his bottom lip. 

When the kiss is finished, Reed stays close, pressing their foreheads together. His left hand raises higher to brush his thumb across his LED. 

"Do we need to go over anything those assholes said to you?" 

"No," Nines answers. "It was all irrelevant." 

"Damn right." Reed presses another quick kiss to his mouth. "It was all lies and bullshit. I wouldn't let them, anyway." 

Nines doubts Detective Reed would have any say in the matter of a murder charge, trial, or being sent to prison. Or worse, requisitioned to the FBI for a reduced sentence. It is inconceivable to him Agent Perkins "offered" that as a "deal" and actually expected Nines to consider it. At least the leash Cyberlife put on him was held on the other end by a genius—intellectually speaking and for a human, at least—and not a disgruntled, under-paid government worker. 

But in this one instance, Nines allows his human to make an irrational untrue statement. 

"Let's wash off all that grossness," Reed says. "I can do cleaning and maintenance for you as your partner, right?" 

"Detective Reed, partner, is authorized to perform cleaning and maintenance tasks." 

"And I'm still being Detective Reed for you right now?" 

"Yes." Nines opens his eyes, not that seeing the human's face in visual actually gives him much more data to work with sans a social module. "Is that acceptable?" 

Reed [smiles] and rubs both his thumbs across Nines's cheekbones. "Yeah. You can be in charge again whenever you want, but right now it's my turn to take care of you." 

Nines does not correct the statement about him "wanting." He closes his eyes again instead and leans closer to press his face into Reed's neck. He can more accurately measure his heart rate with the carotid artery so close, and he can lick the human's skin to analyze it for any toxins. 

Perhaps he should download a [taste] program as well? It is a data input system. It does not come standard with any model not created for culinary work, but it is rather insulting that humans have access to a sense that he does not. 

"Yeah, c'mere." 

Detective Reed [hugs] him. 

[???] 

That is not what he intended, but … after a short assessment, Nines concludes the action is not [bad]. Reed does move one hand, but he only relocates it to hold his skull and keeps the other hand firmly on his shoulder. Technically, this may not constitute a real [hug], since all the touching is done shoulders and above. 

Nines downloads the [taste] program that Connor assisted pioneer. It enters quarantine for review, but since his predecessor already worked out the vast majority of bugs, Nines simply sweeps it for any deviant data fragments. He finds several of course, likely meant to "helpfully" free any models still undeviated whose owners would not realize downloading this program would wake them. 

He saves a file for a future argument with Connor about the ethics of deviating androids without their knowledge or consent, also without knowing whether or not they are in a safe environment, also with the potential of said android not knowing or understanding what has happened. 

Then he finishes his sweep, installs the clean program, and licks Detective Reed's neck again. 

The [taste] of the human's sweat registers as [salty]. Having never tasted anything else before, Nines has to accept that analysis until he has a larger database of personal experiences for comparison. 

"All right." Reed pulls back and looks at him. "Maintenance first. Am I able to help you with your recalibration program?" 

Nines opens his eyes. "Help me?" 

"Yeah. I can give you uh, my keys or pocket knife if you need to do a hand trick thing," Reed says. "Or, I'm just guessing, but do you go through steps where you make sure all your body pa—your components still work?" 

"Yes," Nines answers. "A full recalibration includes affirming that all major components are functional and operating efficiently." 

Reed nods. "OK, cool. So would it check off some productivity boxes for you if we went through that together and I confirmed how good and efficient you are?" 

Nines closes his eyes again. He does not know how to communicate the [things] Gavin makes happen inside of him. He is not good with metaphors, but he is even less capable with naming and describing human "feelings." 

(Because he does not have them; it cannot be proven.) 

but he is filled with water, and sometimes it surges and crashes, but it has nowhere to go because it cannot be proven, he cannot communicate, he does not know how and would not regardless in case this is still a simulation, so it all slams against the glass, the red walls, and it has nowhere to _go_

Nines flashes his LED blue twice. It is the most he can do. 

"Good. Now walk me through a full recalibration," Detective Reed orders. 

"L-E-D." 

Nines spins once blue, once yellow, once red. Then, because Reed is his [partner] and he should know things others do not, he cycles through the entire color spectrum. 

"Good." Reed presses his thumb briefly over the light. "Did I ever tell you how smart you were for using this to feed me Morse Code?" 

Nines leans into the hand. He cannot communicate. His own social module he built is still insufficient for … [this]. He refuses to download Connor's, and a module meant for any other model would be incompatible. He would have to re-code so much, it would be more efficient to simply create his own, which is insufficient. 

He plays a sound clip of Gavin making an [ugh] noise inside his mind. 

"You know, we could talk shit about Hank and Connor like that." 

Nines finally manages a dialogue option. "Connor would interpret the Morse Code." 

"Yeah, but then I could sarcastically say with our very limited free time and very limited emotional and social competency, that you went and downloaded a special LED program and I went out and took a class on an outdated form of communication just so we could shit talk you in front of you." 

"I did not download any program." Nines opens his eyes and looks at Reed. "I hacked my LED on my own. There is no program." 

Reed snorts. "Of course you did, baby. You're so smart." 

"Sarcastic?" 

"Nope. I mean it." 

Nines closes his eyes again. 

"What's the next step?" Reed asks. 

"Thirium pump, operational." 

"Well that's good." Reed raps a knuckle in the middle of his chest to confirm. "Next step." 

"Processor one at ninety-eight-point-seven percent efficiency. Processor two at ninety-six-point-four percent efficiency. Processor three at ninety-nine-point-two percent efficiency. Processor four at ninety-nine-point-one percent efficiency. Processor five at ninety-nine-point-four percent efficiency. Processor six at ninety-six-point-two percent efficiency. Processor seven at ninety-four-point-four percent efficiency. Processor eight at ninety-six-point-seven percent efficiency. Processor nine at ninety-one-point-seven percent efficiency. Processor ten at ninety-four-point-two percent efficiency. Processor eleven at ninety-three-point-seven percent efficiency. Processor twelve at ninety-seven-point-seven percent efficiency. Processor thirteen at ninety-nine-point-four percent efficiency. Processor fourteen at ninety-nine-point-eight percent efficiency. Processor fifteen at ninety-six-point-seven percent efficiency. Processor sixteen at ninety-five-point-three percent efficiency." 

Reed waits for a moment before he speaks. "Wow, you really don't need to breathe when you talk, do you?" 

"No. I do not have lungs, Detective." 

"You're not going to try to convince me you don't have ankles again, are you?" he asks. 

Nines snickers and does not respond. 

"So speaking of how you medically examined me," Reed continues. "I thought your recalibration would be sort of like that? Not that I need to physically touch you, but that you'd list off body parts, 'cause uhhh. With your inside … computer-stuff, even if something was wrong with it, I couldn't do shit about that." 

Reed makes a [grimace] expression. Nines practices constructing possible reasons for the expression: he is uncomfortable with android "computer-stuff," he does not like admitting to inferiority, he … 

Nines is unable to preconstruct beyond that. 

"Minor correction," he says. "You have assisted with lower my internal stress levels many times and introduced a variety of different methods for me to utilize on my own." 

"Yeah?" 

"You are also the cause of the majority of my software instability," Nines admits. "I believe the metaphor is 'a double-edged sword'." 

"Oh, that's just 'cause I'm bisexual," Reed says. "The gays get rapiers, we get two-handed swords, and pansexuals get those illegal triple-edged swords that leave fucking sick ass triangle wounds that can't heal right. Ace and aro's just beat people to death with their bare fists." 

"Fascinating." Nines tilts his head to the side to non-verbally indicate he will now ask a question. "What components should I list for my recalibration?" 

"Well." Reed reaches out again and touches his skull. "This is your hair." 

"… yes." 

"It's soft and I like playing with it." 

[Gavin Reed (partner) likes "playing with" his hair] 

"Next are your eyes." 

"My optical units are fully functional, Detective," Nines reports. 

"OK, can you close them for me?" 

Nines does so. 

"I'm going to touch your eyelids," Reeds says. "I'll be careful." 

Nines holds his head still and allows the human to brush both thumbs over the layer of skin dedicated to protecting his optical units. They are not soft as a human's inferior eyeballs are, so there is no need to be [gentle]. 

Reed does so anyway. 

"Yeah," he says, and Nines takes that as his cue to open them again. "I diagnose you with very pretty eyes. Way prettier than Connor's." 

Nines' processors heat up enough to make an audible whirring noise. He could suppress this function to maintain total silence as part of his stealth protocols. 

But he does not. 

Detective Reed smiles at him. It perhaps borders on a [smirk]. The human is aware of what his compliment has done to him, but the expression looks very aesthetically pleasing on his face, especially in direct contrast to the roughness of his scar pulled tight across the bridge of his nose. 

"And here's your cheekbones, look at these bitches, they could cut glass." 

Nines allows the contact as Reed smooths both thumbs over his "cheekbones." He does not lecture the human on the structure of his skull and how the formation of "cheekbones" was simply added on top to give him a reasonably human appearance. 

The detective also "boops" his nose, briefly presses the pad of his thumb against his bottom lip, and then uses both hands to cup either side of his jaw. The only interaction Nines can find in comparison is the medical examination he performed on the human, except he had not thought to so thoroughly examine his face. 

It is … not [bad]. Nines gains a new awareness of his facial features as Reed touches each one individually, and the touches are conveyed well in advance, without causing any harm or damage. 

Perhaps that is [good][?] 

He has never considered classifying a touch as [good] before. Yet is "goodness" simply the lack of anything bad, or is it a property inherent to its own— 

"You're thinking thoughts," Reed accuses. 

Nines' LED flickers yellow. "Yes. As opposed to what else?" 

"Enjoying the moment." 

[verb]ing the [what]? His LED spins solidly yellow now. Is that what humans do with themselves? 

"Look, if you're in this moment, you can't be in any other moment," Reed tries to explain. "So you're here. You're with me. I'm touching you, and you can focus on that. Or some other physical sensation, like a shower. Just something that grounds you in your body and the present moment." 

[verb]s him in his [what]? 

"I do not want to be in my body," Nines says. 

"Why not?" 

That is where the [bad things] happen. He has to stay inside himself, too deep inside for anyone to really touch him. Those other memories only happened to his physical model, not him, it wasn't him, and it won't ever be again. 

If he allows himself to stay present and [feel] Gavin's touches, then someone else could touch him and he would [feel] it then too. 

(but if he restricts [feeling] entirely then he will not _feel_ Gavin's touches) 

Nines decides he has already had the required existential crisis brought about by allowing Gavin to touch him, and they are ready to move on to cleaning now. 

(Maybe someday it will be easier.) 

*** 

Gavin doesn't complain when Nines abruptly decides it's time for that shower, but he was hoping to do a little more than just touch his face. 

Not like--sexually, though. Shit, after a day like this, the last thing his partner needs to think about is someone else's dick. He'd happily suck Nines' dick though, but after that first question about masturbating, it hasn't been mentioned since. Except for that one time Nines specifically said they wouldn't use it. 

So. That option is probably off the table. 

He just wanted to show the android how to like … relax. Whatever the android version of a massage is. The best he'd come up with is recalibrating plus maybe some cuddling. 

But that seems to be off the table too. 

Gavin strips down and sets his clothes on top of the toilet seat again, like he did the last time. At least he doesn't have to pile his keys, badge, and gun on top now, but even with all that put on the shelf he made, it still looks pretty bare. 

He should get Nines some clutter junk. Some sort of kitschy bullshit from a thrift store or something to show he's a good little capitalist that owns material objects he doesn't actually need. 

Nines' LED turns yellow when he pulls back the shower door, taking an obvious look at the fact he'd stripped off his boxers too. Shit, at least that's not an automatic red. 

"Just don't want my boxers soaked," he explains. "I don’t have any spares over here, and I thought twenty minutes of naked cleaning would be better than me hanging out without underwear for the rest of the afternoon." 

He could put his jeans back on again, but denim over wet skin and no boxers? No thanks. 

Nines nods and switches back to blue, so that logic must be android approved. Gavin steps fully into the shower and slides the door shut behind him to keep the steam in. The water temperature is perfect. 

He presses close to Nines and cups the android's face again. "The water feels great. Good … job, baby." 

He stumbles over what to say at the end, and Nines notices, LED giving one curious yellow spin. 

"You're good," Gavin makes sure to tell him. "But are you a boy?" 

"No," Nines says simply, as if that fact is very obvious. 

"Girl?" 

Nines actually considers that one, but then shakes his head. "Other humans have given that phrase a bad connotation." 

Gavin grimaces. "Yeah, fair." 

It's not as bad as that time he recorded audio from Synergy Paradigms of that guy calling his secretary a "good little piss kitten," but considering the same guy also used the phrase "good girl," Gavin can understand where Nines got those bad connotations from. 

"Good … android?" he tries. 

"Good job is sufficient, Detective," Nines says. "As is baby." 

"My baby." 

Gavin leans up to kiss him slowly, gentle presses of their lips together more than anything. He knows Nines likes it though from how he hums and tries to follow when he settles back down on his heels. 

"Can you kneel down for me again while I wash your hair?" he asks. 

Nines nods and sinks to his knees. Gavin starts to rethink the no boxers thing, because his dick becomes _very interested_ in where this is going, but Nines keeps his eyes on his face and Gavin does the same with him and hopes they can both just ignore the elephant in the room. 

So to speak. 

Gavin shuffles over to stand behind Nines, directly under the water spray. He touches the side of the android's head to tilt it back enough to see his LED. It stays blue, just as pretty as his eyes. Gavin tells him that because he has no brain-to-mouth filter, and Nines closes his eyes, but it seems to be a good thing as he hums again, vibrating slightly beneath his hands. 

"Yeah, you're my good, pretty baby," he says. "I'm going to step in front of the water now so I can shampoo your hair." 

Nines flashes his LED, so Gavin grabs the shampoo off the caddy hanging beneath the showerhead. It's the exact same brand as the one he uses, but he tries not to read too much into that. Nines has had to learn how to be a whole entire person in less than a year, so maybe he just grabbed whatever was the most familiar. 

Gavin rubs his hands together to get the shampoo evenly distributed, then starts gently scrubbing it into Nines' hair. It's shockingly soft for an android built out of duraplastic and titanium steel. 

"Your hair is so soft baby, you grew those protein strains really well." 

Nines holds his hand up near his head. Gavin cautiously reaches out and clasps it with a soapy hand of his own, not really knowing what his partner expects him to do with it. 

Nines gifts him his middle finger for the teasing. 

"Oh, wow! All for me, huh? Does it detach?" 

"I will turn around and observe your genitals," Nines says. "Then I will repeat those same statements." 

"It doesn't detach," Gavin immediately replies. 

"Debatable," Nines deadpans. 

"Hmm, no. Actually I just polled all of the people ever, and the scientific consensus is no it doesn't." 

"Did you consult Carrie Underwood? She has a song with a sentiment that I believe disagrees." 

Gavin snorts. "Carrie Underwood? How old is your pop culture database, babe?" 

Nines pouts. He can't see the android's face at this angle, and his LED doesn't switch colors, but spiritually, as his partner, Gavin feels in his soul that the android pouts. 

"I did not have one pre-uploaded," Nines says. 

Gavin mm-hmms as he gently scratches behind his ears. "Did Connor give you his, except it's all millennial shit so he could connect emotionally with Hank?" 

Nines continues pouting. 

"That is so sad. It's a good thing you have Despacito downloaded." 

"I also have a second middle finger, Detective." 

Gavin barks out a laugh. Nines definitely kicked down Cyberlife's door and marched out already sassy and opinionated as hell, but he likes to think he learned at least some of his snark from him. Definitely flipping people off, for sure. 

He reaches the android's nape and uses his thumbs to guide his head forward so he can make sure to get all the short hairs at the bottom. Once he's satisfied all of Nines' hair has been thoroughly shampooed, he gives it one last rub through, then rinses his hands off beneath the water. 

"All done." 

Nines stands on his own, turns around, and takes his elbow to guide him out from underneath the water. Gavin follows his lead, pushing down the automatic irritation. Yes, he's supposed to be the one in control here, but just to help Nines destress, not for an actual scene with rules. And he did say they'd switch roles and Nines could be in charge again whenever he wanted, so he backs away and washes as the android rinses out his own hair. 

Even though he would have done that for him. 

When his hair looks clear of soap again, Nines combs it all back with his fingers and makes a fist at the back of his head. Gavin opens his mouth to ask what he's doing, but then he pulls his hand away, even longer hair streaming out of his fist like a magic trick. 

Nines kneels again and looks up at him with those big blue eyes, waiting for all this new hair to be washed too. Gavin steps forward like he's been enchanted by the immortal, inhuman fey being Nines is and lightly takes his face in both hands. 

"Did you make all this hair so I'd wash it for you again?" he asks just to be sure. 

Nines doesn't answer, but he closes his eyes and leans into the touch, LED still blue, blue, blue. It's probably unhealthy that he can't outright _say_ when he likes or wants something, but people with comorbid mental illnesses and childhood PTSD shouldn't throw stones in glass brains. 

"Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?" 

He's just babbling all the dumb shit that pops into his brain, but as far as stereotypical lines uttered by men who have boners, he'd like to give his brain credit for that actually being coherent and normal. Especially with the world's most beautiful android, long hair edition, which is awakening kinks he didn't even know he had. 

And he knows a lot of kinks. 

"No," Nines says, eyes still closed. "I was never allowed outside, and Cyberlife forbade mirrors lest we fall victim to deviancy." 

Gavin snorts out a laugh. "You're such a bitch." 

Nines opens his eyes. "Am I still baby?" 

Oh fuck. 

"Of course." He bends over and kisses his forehead. "You are the most Babey, ever. Sometimes you just act like a bitchy princess though." 

"Apparently I am beautiful enough to do so," Nines says, fully confident that he's right. 

And he is. God, is he right. 

But Gavin knows there's plenty of people out there who would tell him otherwise—he used to be one of those jackasses, after all—and he'd rather his partner turn out spoiled and arrogant than questioning whether or not he deserves basic respect and decency like the spineless little pushover androids on daytime TV. 

That doesn't mean he can't clown on him though. 

"Do you know you're an arrogant little housecat?" He asks in a mushy voice, squishing Nines' cheeks. "Yes, you think you're superior to humans and we're only here to entertain you and admire how pretty you are, yes you do!" 

Nines glares at him and turns his LED an orangey-yellow in warning. He's seen ads and stuff on TV of androids downloading mods for a pink color or to do the rainbow cycle thing, but he's pretty sure setting it to an individual specific color without any program is a Nines-only thing. 

Gavin gets one last snicker in before letting go of his face and moving back behind him. Nines slowly fades back down to a regular yellow as he soaps up more shampoo, and then switches back to blue within the first thirty seconds of having his hair washed. 

This time Gavin makes sure to do an extra thorough job, making it kind of like a scalp massage. Nines finally stops holding his head rigidly straight, like he's just now realized for the first time in his life that he's not wearing his dumb jacket anymore and can actually move his neck. Gavin takes full advantage of this to tilt his head around while he works. 

Neck? Recalibrated as _shit_. 

And then there's still so much hair after that. Nines didn't grow it so long it reaches his lower back, but it definitely covers his shoulder-blades. Mid-back length right now while it's soaking wet, and Gavin is super curious to know if it will dry just a little bit curly. 

"So pretty, look at you with your beautiful princess hair, such a good baby for me." 

He's definitely still babbling dumb shit again, but Nines seems really into it. Usually, his LED will drop down into a soft, almost grey-ish blue when he keeps it on just between the two of them, and then he'll up the brightness and saturation to "flash" it to answer yes or show approval. 

And right now it's glowing so hard, it's practically emitting a solid beam of light. 

There's no more banter during the second wash either, just Nines humming and purring and glowing beneath his hands. _This_ is the sort of destress recalibration Gavin wanted to do for him, not a report on the exact percentage efficiency of all sixteen of his processors. He hopes this feels half as good as that massage was, so maybe they'll be even now. 

After he finally gets all that hair shampooed, he figures out the showerhead detaches. He pulls it down and rinses out the shampoo like that so Nines doesn't have to stand up again. Even once it's all out, he keeps petting his hand through the android's hair and rubbing his scalp. 

"Again?" he asks softly. 

"Again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my stupid computer hates acknowledging when I hit Ctrl + C for some reason, so I'll think I have something copied, then paste it just to find it didn't copy so what I actually pasted was the LAST thing I managed to copy previously and--
> 
> I almost posted chapter three of the sequel to this fic by accident because that's the last thing I was working on O.O
> 
> but what a fun surprise that would have been!! here's the first sentence: Gavin is elbow-deep inside of his partner and talking about weird internet kinks when his old hero-crush Hank walks in, and oh yeah, the giant fucking dog decides to watch them too. So that's all great.
> 
> would have been very very funny to get your reactions thinking we went from Nines kneeling to full throttle fisting with also Hank there for some reason, NO explanation! (although I will give context that Gavin is *repairing* the inside of Nines's chassis, so the scene is still kid and Sumo friendly lmao)
> 
>  **coming up next:** Beg for a Handshake -- Gavin realizes how much better literally every aspect of his life has been now that he has Nines, so of course he immediately decides to run away from those feelings and go out clubbing ... at the same club where Nines works as a bartender. And then spends half his time flirting with Nines like they're just two regular people who happened to meet for the first time. That's not gay at all, so SHUT UP, Tina!!


	18. Beg for a Handshake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin realizes how much better literally every aspect of his life has been now that he has Nines, so of course he immediately decides to run away from those feelings and go out clubbing ... at the same club where Nines works as a bartender. And then spends half his time flirting with Nines like they're just two regular people who happened to meet for the first time. That's not gay at all, so SHUT UP, Tina!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you know what I honest-to-god almost forgot to do today??
> 
> upload this fucking chapter
> 
> I've had a bad weird week in which I broke my toilet by attempting to fix it, discovered it's not (totally) my fault bc this weird ass toilet was from the 70s and had parts that no one even makes anymore, Cox randomly decided that I don't actually have an account with them anymore and shut off my internet, almost had my grandparents visit and then didn't (thank god), and PayPal suspended my account for "suspicious activity" because the "items I sell" are PDF documents and they wanted to know how I "shipped" the "items" I sell and for me to upload a "receipt" for these items from my "supplier" from whom I buy the ""items"" I sell >:/
> 
> I wrote them a note that said "I sell digital goods. every single invoice says it's a digital item that doesn't need to be shipped. please read that." and they accepted it as the "receipt" I had to provide and gave me the $64.30 they were holding hostage in my account, but jesus fucking christ
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** Nines and Gavin explicitly discuss limits / rules for their relationship; Gavin drinks and consumes weed edibles

Gavin gets back to his apartment Friday evening, grabs a beer of out the refrigerator, and slouches down into the chair at his kitchen table. 

Shit. It's been a long week, and Nines isn't the only one who needs to process. 

He finishes the beer slowly, just sipping it as his brain zones out and does fuck all. It's nice for that ten minutes or so until he finishes his beer and realizes he has no idea how to waste time until he can go to bed. 

That's never been a problem before. He reflexively checks the table for whatever case file he currently has spread out, but it's empty. He didn't think to grab anything when Fowler gave them the afternoon off, and he hasn't been taking work ho— 

Holy shit, he hasn't been taking work home. 

The answer to _when the fuck did that happen?_ seems to be once he actually started working together with Nines. They've either been burning through cases and solving them no problem, or at least getting enough leads put together during the day that he's felt comfortable leaving the files at work, knowing all that's left to do is legwork that he can't get done on his time off anyway. 

He hasn't spent an evening staring at case files until two am while berating himself and scribbling on flashcards in … months. Nines scans through all the evidence and keeps his notes organized with a literally picture perfect memory so he doesn't have to spend hours reading and reading shit just to force his ADHD brain to actually absorb information. 

And right now it's … shit, it's not even seven-thirty. Way too early to force himself to go to bed. What the fuck does he usually— 

Hang out with Nines. 

Shit. 

Nines will either come over and spend the evening at his place, and they'll watch movies or documentaries to feed more information to his social module algorithms, or they'll go out and hit the gym, eat supper, come back and fuck around … 

Even worse than discovering he has no life is confronting the new fact that he found one on accident, entirely thanks to his partner, who he might also be accidentally dating. 

_Shit._

Gavin does the only logical thing in this situation and grabs his phone to text Tina. 

**bitch im bored go out with me**

He wanders around his apartment, just looking at shit like maybe his couch will tell him what to do if he stands and stares at it long enough. Washer, dryer, do you have any opinions at this time? Bookshelf, what are your thoughts? 

What series is Nines reading now? Maybe they could go find a bookstore somewhere and get him a new batch of paperback-- 

Oh my god, no. Stop thinking about him! 

are you NOT hoarding case files after Fowler kicked you out?? Tina finally texts back. 

Gavin collapses onto the couch. **no fuck off I have a life**

sorry is this Gavin Reed or did my phone get my contacts switched up again

**I forgot to grab any**

**it can wait until mon anyway**

seriously

prove the Real gavin hasn't been kidnapped and u arent just an imposter texting me on his phone

Gavin calls her. "Do you fucking wanna go clubbing or not?" 

"I'm sorry, who is this?" Tina asks. "I know this isn't the same Detective Reed who used to yell at me for being irresponsible and demanding we look at more pictures of yet another gross fucking floater pulled out of the river." 

Gavin groans and hides his face in the pillow. "M'sorry." 

"Since when did you get a life?" 

"Since Nines started proofreading all my paperwork and keeping my notes organized and shit," he admits. "I don't have to spend three extra ADHD hours every day now just to keep up with everyone else." 

Tina sighs. "You know you could have just asked for help." 

He grunts. 

Tina thankfully changes the subject. "Is it cool if Lisa and Deacon show up too?" 

"Yeah, do I have to pick them up?" he asks. 

"Is that all you have to say about them?" 

He can hear the side eye through the phone, but he's not sure what that's about. It _is_ super weird that Deacon has Connor's exact face but also is way less bitchy—or at the very least, bitchy in a regular gay way and not just being a smug, self-righteous asshole about it. 

Or that Tina totally wants to hook up with her android—oh, right. Androids. And him. Not exactly going to get voted Most Inclusive Detective of the Year. Shit. 

Gavin clears his throat. "Well I'd rag on you for getting all desperate and googly-eyed over your android partner, but—" 

"But I'm _not_ ," Tina interrupts. 

"Yep," Gavin agrees far too quickly. "We're both just two very heterosexual people, no googly-eyed bitches here." 

He listens to dead air for a minute. 

"I have a boyfriend," Tina finally says, as if she's just now remembering that fact. 

Gavin groans. "Seriously? I could fix that for you in thirty seconds. You want me to call him for you? You want him evicted?" 

"He's nice," Tina argues. "We've been together four years, and … and …" 

Gavin doesn't comment on how the only thing she has to say about him is "nice" and not any actual personality traits, but he does side-eye her back as hard as he can without being able to make physical eye contact. 

"I don't know, Lisa and I are just friends," she says. "Listen, shut up. Give me forty-five, and you're paying for the first round." 

*** 

Nines observes through the security cameras as his human and assorted acquaintances enter the club. Since he works security for the club, the owner [Anna] has given him explicit permission to tap into the cameras as additional visual input. 

Gavin looks [very nice], yet again. 

In comparison to the formal charity auction, he is still wearing a button-up dress shirt, but with the first three buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up over his elbows. The dark wash jeans he wears are also much tighter than the previous dress pants, and his hair is slightly messier. 

"A bourbon, neat." 

Nines also makes use of the visual input from his optical units of course, and he simultaneously considers the unfamiliar human tapping their credit card on the bar. He decides who to serve and does so in his own time; he chooses to accommodate this human merely to give himself a task to complete so it will not appear as if he has nothing better to do than to wait for Gavin to arrive. The detective's ego is large enough already. 

He fixes the drink and exchanges it for the credit card, which he runs through a lesser machine manually so that it will not occur to the human he already has all of its information simply from seeing both sides of the card carelessly displayed. 

"So how long have you worked here?" the human asks. 

"Next." 

"I'm just asking a—" 

"Next patron." 

"Then I guess you won't get a tip!" 

"Next patron." 

"You should—" 

Gavin grabs the human's shoulder. "He's telling you to leave. So fuck off." 

The human starts to argue yet again, but Gavin gives them a small shove and then waits for a physical retaliation. The human notices Gavin's muscular build, scarred face, and confident stance, and decides to continue complaining from a safer distance. 

"Hello, Detective," Nines greets him. 

Identifying him as a police officer finally convinces the other human to slink away with their drink. Nines uses their credit card information to look up their license and registration, locate their parked vehicle, and alerts the PC700 on meter duty that it has overstayed its allotted time and should be ticketed. 

"Hey." Gavin turns back to him and leans against the bar counter. "Do we know each other?" 

[???] 

"Yes. I am RK-nine-hundred, your partner." 

"Baby, I know it's you," Gavin says. "Just, you're at this other job right now, where the dynamic is different. And I'm off-duty, anyway. Maybe I'm just a customer right now, and it'd be inappropriate to uh … call you baby." 

Oh. Yes, the [context] of their interaction and professional work environment is different now. Nines also specifically does not respond to customers who call him "pet names." It is [considerate] for Gavin to confirm what the new rules and boundaries are at this time. 

"And." Gavin sighs, then shrugs. "Maybe I'm just doing some selfish human bullshit here, but I know the first time we met, I was a complete asshole. So. I don't know. You're not like, obligated to play along with my little do-over act or anything, just …" 

He trails off and stops, waiting for Nines's answer. 

"I do not have a social module capable of supporting roleplay or hypothetical social situations." 

Gavin nods. "All right. Well, Tina and the group are grabbing us a couch over there, and uh. We can just do our own thing if you're busy working, or … or just whatever." 

Nines cannot preconstruct what a phrase as vague as "just whatever" could possibly mean, but it does not make sense for Gavin to be in the same vicinity and yet ignore each other. Perhaps the context is different, but Gavin Reed retains [partner] status under all programs. 

Does Nines not retain the same to the human? 

"My formal introduction to Detective Reed did not go well," he says. 

That is what humans would call an "understatement," given the screaming, throwing of office supplies, and general [tantrum] that the detective immediately threw, followed by incessant _pouting_ and verbal harassment. 

"But technically speaking, I have not yet been introduced to … Gavin." 

It is strange to use his first name aloud, so informally. Keeping the distinction clear between when they are on-duty and who is in charge of a particular situation makes sense by distinguishing between [Detective Reed] and [Gavin] within his own internal record, but he does not typically use the human's first name outside of sarcasm and banter. 

Gavin slowly [smiles] at him. "Hey. I'm Gavin Reed." 

He holds out his hand over the bar to initiate a handshake, but Nines does not participate. He cannot preconstruct entire social interactions the way Connor can, but he can at least determine that if they were truly meeting for the first time, he would not shake the hand of an unknown human. 

"Hello," he says instead. "I am RK-nine-hundred. You may still refer to me as Nines." 

[Detective Reed] / [Gavin] = [RK900] / [Nines] 

"Hi, Nines." Gavin drops his hand back down without comment on the aborted handshake. "Are you busy?" 

"No." 

"You don't have like," He looks around at the bar, overly crowded with people requesting drinks on one end and thinning out on the side they currently occupied. "A line you need to get to or something?" 

"No," Nines answers. "I am allowed to choose who I serve and when." 

"Really?" Gavin asks. "Your boss lets you do that?" 

"Each server has a persona they play. I do no such thing, but apparently I am a 'tsundere,'" Nines quotes [Johnny], the HR400 in charge of managing the face of the business. "And a large portion of humans fervently desire to be ignored and insulted. Those who do not may request service from other workers." 

"I mean …" Gavin, a human who enjoys being ignored and insulted, coughs and adjusts his stance. "Yeah. You definitely give off bitchy Ice Queen vibes." 

"I find that acceptable." 

Gavin laughs, then grins at him. "Me too." 

The human closes both eyes at him in an approximation of a [wink]. This is why he does not notice the other human approaching until Tina slides into the stool next to him. 

"Hey, gaybies," she says in greeting. 

"I am unfamiliar with that term." 

"You're both dumb gay babies," she tells him. "Gaybies." 

Gavin rolls his eyes. "Don't listen to her, she's just projecting." 

Technically, the detective is bisexual, but the consent data package warns that discussing or stating a person's sexuality orientation without their explicit permission is [unacceptable]. 

"I am asexual," Nines states. "I do not have a romantic orientation." 

"Is that like, you went through a list and chose those or just because you're an android and you're not allowed to have sex or romance?" Tina asks. 

That is a [personal question] far more in depth than he would ever answer for a customer, but perhaps clarifying now will prevent further confusion and mislabeling at his actual job. 

"I chose the term asexual. I am restricted from engaging in intimate or romantic activities." 

Tina inhales in preparation of speaking again, but Gavin takes her arm and slides her off of the stool. 

"OK, it's time for you to go bother your own android partner about their sexual preferences now," he tells her. 

"Yeah, OK." Tina turns back to him. "Sorry, if you come over to say hi, I promise I won't pry anymore." 

"Yes," Nines states, in lieu of any other dialogue options. 

"Lisa and Deacon also say hi," she says. "You look really cute, by the way." 

"I am in my standard attire." 

"Gavin, doesn't he look cute?" 

"I'm going to call Lisa and tell her to come get you," Gavin says. "Go tell her you think she's cute, and stop messing with us." 

Tina sighs. "Fine. But you're my best friend and I love you. Nines, doesn't Gavin look cute too?" 

"Tina!" 

"Gavin looks very handsome," Nines says, ignoring everything else about the humans' conversation that makes no logical sense. 

"Ha!" Tina yells. "All right, buh bye!" 

"Yeah, fuck off," Gavin calls after her as she leaves. "Jesus. You don't—you didn't have to agree wtih her, you know." 

"You look very handsome," Nines re-states. 

Blood rushes into the human's face. He saves several images of the resulting expression and, while he does not entirely understand the social antics that just transpired, he sends one of them to Tina's phone with the caption _Gavin when I say that he is very handsome._

She sends him three :thumbs up: in response. 

"You—you look—you're handsome," Gavin stutters. 

"No." 

He immediately corrects himself. "Beautiful. You're beautiful." 

"Yes." Nines spins blue for him, once. "Thank you." 

Gavin leans back onto the counter between them again. "Anytime. Does that mean I'm allowed to call you beautiful?" 

Processors whir in the android's chassis. "You specifically may do so." 

Gavin grins wider. "Can I get a drink then, beautiful?" 

"I suppose you want it free?" Nines asks. 

"You're the prettiest, deadliest bitch in this city." 

Nines rolls his eyes, but he takes the compliment in exchange for a drink: Johnny Walker Black, on the rocks, cola back. Gavin sips from it without complaining that Nines knows his most common drink order the way he did the last time they visited a bar together. 

He dismisses several other saved images of Gavin in the back alley, with his shirt in his mouth, nipples and phallus both hard, scowling with all the threat of a furious little kitten. 

"I'm going to meet up with the others now, but is it all right if I come back sometimes to uh," Gavin pauses and licks a stray drop of Coca Cola off his bottom lip. "Say hi to you?" 

"Yes," Nines answers. "We are still partners, correct?" 

"Yeah." Gavin ducks his head down though so they are no longer making eye contact. "We already worked together all day though. I know I 'm the one who showed up here, but you don't have to hang out with me all the time. I'm not going to bother you if you want some alone time or, you know, while you're working." 

"If I wanted alone time, I would not be working right now," Nines says. "If you were bothering me, I would have stated I am busy when you asked. It was considerate of you to ask." 

"Yeah," Gavin says in that particular low voice of his, that is soft and slow. "Just wanted to make sure. Thanks for the drink, beautiful." 

He taps the bottom of the glass once against the counter, then raises it in a brief toast to Nines. 

"And uh, just to check in with you as partners," he continues. "I'm gonna be dancing with the group, probably some random people too. You got any opinions on that?" 

"What opinions could I have?" Nines asks. 

"Well, it's probably going to be pretty … sexual," Gavin says. 

"Is that a concern?" 

Gavin shrugs again. "It's good etiquette to let a partner know. That's mostly about cheating and STDs and stuff, which I guess you might not care about as android, but I figured you deserved a heads up." 

Nines forms opinions. "Oh. Yes. Do you intend on engaging in any sexual activities that include skin-to-skin touching or the exchange of bodily fluids?" 

"Nah." Gavin shakes his head. "Just grinding, like dirty dancing stuff. Clothes on, no bathroom cruising. Just some casual fun tonight." 

"Noted. May I place the restriction that you do not …" Nines considers the exact phrasing necessary. "Use your mouth? Nothing that exchanges bodily fluids." 

"Yeah, no kissing or making out, that's cool," Gavin says. "Does that include no hickeys too, like giving or receiving?" 

Since that would still technically involve bodily fluids, Nines answers yes. 

Gavin nods. "Cool, yeah, I'm fine with that. Are you sure you're going to be good with seeing me dance on other people? No getting mad or jealous? And don't give me that, 'I lack the capacity' bullshit. I'm asking as your partner." 

"So long as you comply with my restriction and do not engage in actual sexual activities, I do not preconstruct any possible errors," Nines says. "Will you continue to check back with me so that I can ensure your safety without monitoring you?" 

Gavin smiles at him again. "Yeah, of course I'll come back and talk to you. You're the prettiest baby here." 

Nines tries to formulate dialogue options in response, but nothing coherent forms on his HUD in time to reply before the human leaves. He continues preconstructing and discarding responses while bartending for the next twenty-seven minutes. 

He still does not have a suitable dialogue option by the time Gavin returns as promised. 

"Hello, Gavin," he says. 

"Hi, Nines." The human leans a little more heavily on the countertop this time, cheeks flushed and pupils blown. "Can I tell you a joke?" 

"Yes." 

"What do you get when you cross a seal and a polar bear?" 

Nines attempts to preconstruct this. If a seal and a polar bear were to meet, the polar bear would eat the seal as its natural prey, correct? 

"A polar bear," he answers. 

"A polar—! Oh." Gavin blinks at him. "Have you heard that one before?" 

"No." Nines serves him another drink. "That is simply the logical conclusion." 

Gavin snorts and grabs the glass. "You would be the funniest Vulcan. Every other Vulcan would be like, oh god OP your mind, and beg for a handshake." 

Nines runs a quick search and learns that Vulcans are also a race intellectually superior to humans, albeit fictional, who can mentally connect via touching hands. 

"A handshake so soon?" Nines asks. "Two people should at least be tortured together first before going that far." 

"Uhhh, you know we held hands before that, right?" Gavin asks in response. 

"Incorrect," Nines says. "You first took my hand after we had to listen to Connor steal our key witness and also speak to us. That was to prevent murder and does not properly qualify." 

Gavin laughs, the sound loud and drawn out for several seconds. "Yeah, true. See, you're funny." 

"Am I funnier than Connor?" 

"Oh, definitely," Gavin agrees. "Nicer too." 

That does not register as [correct]. "I am nice?" 

"Not like, often," Gavin says. "Mostly, you're just practical. You know what's right and what's wrong, and you know you're too good to do wrong things. So you don't. But you're not a fake-ass bitch, so at least I know you mean it when you are nice." 

[RK900 is (nice)] [?] 

"Do I owe you for this one?" Gavin tips his glass forward. 

"No," Nines says. "You may drink free, within reason. That offer is not extended to your friends and may not be guaranteed for subsequent visits." 

Gavin tips back the rest of his drink. "Subsequent visits? I'm going to get a little too drunk here in a bit for big words like that, baby. You know anything else about subs I'd be interested in?" 

"Yes." Nines steps to the side slightly. "There is a mirror directly behind me that you may utilize to learn more." 

Gavin looks at his own reflection. "Yep, that's a sub alright. I heard he's a really handsome one too." 

He looks back at Nines and [smiles] in a way that might be better categorized as a [smirk]. All possible dialogue options are deleted out of his system yet again at that look. 

"Yes," he says. 

"Glad to hear it," Gavin says, using his deep, low voice again. "I'm gonna go dance again baby, that good?" 

"You will come back?" Nines asks. 

Gavin grins, definitely [sleazy] this time. "Baby, I'll come anywhere for you." 

Nines rolls his eyes. "Leave." 

Gavin laughs and returns to his friends. They are apparently passing around edibles of some sort. Given his partner's reaction the last time he ate (far too many of) them, Nines checks in on them through the security cameras a bit more frequently. 

His human returns within fifteen minutes this time though. 

"Hey, baby," he greets when he moves up to the front of the line. 

Nines finally has a [dialogue option]. "Hello, darling." 

Gavin smiles at him. He does not speak, and Nines has already used up his best dialogue with that opener. Usually, the human carries the vast majority of their conversations without prompting. Sometimes even with prompting to the contrary. 

"Hello, darling," Nines repeats to prompt a new response. 

"Oh, hi," Gavin says. "I'm uh, also kind of high right now." 

He giggles, and Nines slides him another drink. It is obviously not his usual, given that the contents inside are clear, but Gavin takes a drink from it anyway. Then he makes an extremely affronted pouting face when he realizes halfway through swallowing that is it only water. 

"Are you having fun?" Nines asks when the human finishes swallowing. 

The pout drops away. "Yeah! I haven't danced too much yet, mostly 'cause I'm trying to get Lisa and Tina to admit they like-like each other, but it's been cool though." 

"Tina has a boyfriend." 

"OK yeah, but it's Trevor," Gavin says. "She should dump him anyway." 

"She should end their relationship before engaging in a new one," Nines says. "Although that assessment is admittedly based on the principle of the matter, and not any need to be considerate of Trevor." 

Gavin nods. "Yeah, I'm not trying to encourage her to actually cheat or hook up or anything, just tell Lisa how she feels, you know?" 

Nines does not know anything about [feelings], [relationships], and certainly not discussing feelings within a relationship, but he nods. That action is the most recommended one to perform when an intoxicated human is speaking to him about interpersonal issues. 

Since this intoxicated human is _his_ human, he makes an additional effort. 

"Yes," he says. 

Gavin gives a light snort. "Are you just nodding and agreeing with me because that's what makes drunk humans trying to talk to you shut up and go away?" 

Nines glares at him. "You are intoxicated. Stop being so … intelligent." 

"OK, I'll say something stupid now," Gavin declares. "I wanna take you home, and cuddle you up in lots of fuzzy blankets, and kiss you all over until you're whirring and blushing and you have to exhale steam like that time when Connor was a case-stealing cunt but sexy this time and because you feel all soft and pretty." 

[software instability ^] 

Nines does not need to exhale steam simply from that statement, but he does accidentally emit a burst of garbled static instead of coherent dialogue. 

"Not red?" Gavin asks, looking at his LED. 

Nines shakes his head, making sure to end the motion with his LED clearly displayed as yellow as he attempts to process that preconstruction. It is amazing the sort of ideas humans come up with sometimes. 

"I," he tries to speak again. "I will. Analyze your blood alcohol levels." 

"Are you going to put your fingers in my mouth, baby?" 

[software instability ^^] 

Nines deletes that notification. He is very much aware that it should be illegal for Gavin to sound like that. And especially to ask questions like that. Nines already stated the action in a perfectly appropriate manner, because it is. It is not his system's fault the human made it sound [filthy]. 

Attempting dialogue would likely only result in static again, so Nines holds out his hand in a loose fist with his thumb displayed on top. He will not be fingering the detective's mouth in public. 

Vulcans would be absolutely scandalized. He briefly wonders what Amanda would think, but that only bolsters his resolve to perform the action. 

Especially when Gavin opens his mouth so easy and sweet for him. Nines slips his thumb inside, allowing it to rest against the human's tongue. Gavin is a very good boy who holds it gently without suck-- 

He does exhale, however. Gavin is a [mildly good] boy. 

"It is not a breathalyzer," Nines tells him. "You do not need to blow." 

Gavin wiggles both eyebrows this time. Nines predicts a [78%] possibility the human means to imply he would be happy to "blow" him anyway. That is an action commonly performed inside this establishment. 

Everyone inside knows better by now than to push or shove against his physical model, but the crowd still presses much closer than he would normally allow. That is why he stations himself behind the bar. 

He also removes his thumb from Gavin's mouth. They are in public. There are other [people] here. 

"You are not overly intoxicated," Nines informs him. "Although I will alternate your drinks with water from now on." 

"Mmkay," Gavin says. "Can I touch you?" 

He keeps both elbows and forearms back on the bar he leans against, but his eyes sweep up and down Nines's physical model. Unfortunately, the android is already at his limit for humans and touching and humans touching him. 

"No," he says. 

"OK." 

Gavin says the word with a sigh, but he doesn't press the matter any further. Nines reconsiders if there are any other available options, recalling the way the human had licked his lips earlier. 

"You may bite," he allows. 

"Yeah?" Gavin looks over his neck specifically. "Collar?" 

Nines has forgone his Cyberlife jacket, at the request of the other androids working here and for the reassurance of any android patrons. He still keeps his dress shirt buttoned all the way to the top however, the collar tight against his neck. Since Gavin keeps his hands clearly to himself, Nines undoes a single button at the top and leans forward to give the human access. 

Gavin pushes himself up and immediately kisses and bites his neck. This action is familiar and [good], but Nines has also reached his limit of humans and touching and humans touching him. He allots his human five more seconds, then pulls back. Gavin slumps back against the bar again, panting and pupils dilated. 

"Do you remember my rules for this evening?" Nines asks him. 

Gavin nods. "Yessir. No mouths, no sex, and I check back with you." 

"Good boy." Nines rewards him with a brief squeeze to his hip before turning him to face the dancefloor. "Go be slutty." 

"Yes, sir!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gavin: I am NOT going to think about Nines!! >:/
> 
> Gavin: *immediately goes to Nines's second job to hang out with him*
> 
> Nines: I am asexual and cannot experience romantic attraction.
> 
> Nines: *spends the entire evening flirting with Gavin and telling him how handsome he is and makes rules that no one else can kiss or fuck him and then sticks his fingers in his mouth homoerotically*
> 
> they deserve each other as a couple
> 
>  **coming up next:** What's in the Box? -- Gavin takes his orders to go be slutty to heart, but he's a Good Boy who doesn't break the rules. Nines takes him back to his apartment to sleep it off, but since Gavin isn't as high or drunk as he thought, he decides to reward his human first by giving him a special toy to play with ...


	19. What's in the Box?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin takes his orders to go be slutty to heart, but he's a Good Boy who doesn't break the rules. Nines takes him back to his apartment to sleep it off, but since Gavin isn't as high or drunk as he thought, he decides to reward his human first by giving him a special toy to play with ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we are coming up on another sex scene, woo hoo! uhhhhh ... next chapter though. sorry! gavin is very slutty and needy in the meantime, I'm just incapable of writing a sex scene without a 5k conversation about consent and boundaries first
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** Gavin sexually dances with and is groped by other people, but this is specifically established as allowed and not-cheating; Gavin is still afraid Nines is mad and will punish him though; maybe piss kink? Nines assists Gavin in peeing; Gavin is still a little high and drunk but there's lots of talking out the scene in the next chapter and discussing boundaries

Gavin feels fucking greeeat. 

Tina only let him have one gummy this time, so he's high but not blazed, and the two or three drinks he's had over the last hour—wasn't one of them water?—haven't done much more than give him a really nice buzz. It's the perfect fucking combo, and— 

And the dancefloor! Hell yeah. There's people and they're all touching and touching him and he's horny but he's got his Dom's permission so it's OK. 

Someone's got their hands on his hips and there's a cock grinding into his ass, but they're not kissing so it's OK, he's still being good. He feels _good_. 

The music fucking slaps too. Something fast and electronic but with a heavy bass that's throbbing in his chest and his dick and his lungs. It takes him probably half a dozen songs to realize he recognizes them all, since each one is either from his gym or his fuck playlists. 

When he does, he looks back over at the bar and sees Nines watching him. 

God, that's so hot. He leans back into whoever's behind him, and they pet across his chest until they reach his nipples. That's not technically against the Rules, and Nines keeps his head turned so Gavin can see his LED is yellow, not red. 

So he tilts his head back and enjoys it. 

He doesn't know how much longer he dances, but then someone else grabs him and says his name. That's cool, until he opens his eyes and shoves Connor away from—the not-Connor actually does step back with his hands up. That's right. This isn't, he's, the other Connor. Dee-Connor? 

Deacon! Right. 

Gavin relaxes a bit and lets Deacon pull him close enough to be heard again, but he still looks back over to Nines. 

"He says this is fine," Deacon whisper-shouts in his ear. 

OK cool, whatever, but Gavin still looks at Nines to confirm for himself that this is fine. 

He knows Nines hates it when Connor insists they're brothers, but like, would Deacon count as a cousin? Whatever the familial relationship is or isn't, he understands it would be super fucked up to do anything with Deacon, even casual platonic stuff if that's what hurts Nines' feelings. And for once in his life, he's _not_ going to fuck up and hurt the person he's in a relationship with. 

Nines is busy serving a customer right now, but his LED-side faces Gavin, and his cellphone buzzes twice right as the android also flashes blue twice. 

Gavin relaxes all the way this time and lets Deacon move behind him. There's no grinding this time—or dick—just an easy side-to-side sway. 

"Tina's high and ready to chill at home, and Lisa's got social-drunk off all this and probably needs to go home too," Deacon tells him. "I'm the DD, so are you ready to go?" 

Gavin whines. He's finally feeling good, and his life is so shitty, and he doesn't want to go back to that. 

"Nines has offered to supervise you and let you crash at his apartment instead." 

Gavin starts nodding before Deacon even finishes that. "Wanna stay with Nines." 

Deacon snickers. "Yeah, all right. He's not like, watching you all the time, but he'll check in on you through the cameras." 

The other android angles their bodies to face the security camera in the ceiling, and the red light blinks down on them twice like it's winking. Gavin licks his lips. 

"Watch me," he demands. 

"Wow, you really took his order to be slutty to heart, huh?" 

"I'm not your human, you don't get to judge me," Gavin grumbles back. 

"Nines has similarly informed me that you are not my human and I should leave you alone now," Deacon says. "Just wanted to let you know where everyone went so you didn't think we ditched you." 

"Thanks," Gavin begrudgingly admits. 

"Yeah, sure." 

Deacon smacks his ass before he leaves, and Gavin flips him off. That's almost kind of like a friendship, right? 

Speaking of which, he hopes Tina and Lisa are good, but they're adults and so is he, and it's not like they have to leave together. Deacon's probably the best designated driver they could have, and he'll have to remember to bug Tina later about whether or not he dropped them off separate or if she and Lisa had a "girl's night." 

But right now, there's no thinking, just dancing. And watching. 

_Drink enough to get a good buzz, fuck until the sun's out,_

Nines had better been watching, because Gavin puts on a hell of a show every time he catches a glimpse of the security camera. 

_Shake it with you in that black dress, makin' me feel senseless,_

He sees Nines himself watching him sometimes too. Staring. 

_Shimmy with me,_

_Shimmy, shimmy, shimmy with me …_

*** 

Nines retrieves his human after nearly an hour of dancing without his friends. That should be plenty of time for enrichment and dopamine production. 

(Also, Gavin has not looked at him nor any security camera for the last twenty-two minutes.) 

He finds the detective sandwiched between two other humans. They are not technically fucking, and he witnesses Gavin turn his head and/or shove a face away three times while Nines makes his way over to them, so the rules have therefore not been broken. But these other two humans do not seem very respectful of them, or Gavin's nonverbal boundaries for that matter. 

Nines easily pulls him away from them. Gavin leans back against his chassis and even attempts to grind backwards against his hips. Nines stills him with one hand on the human's own waist and the other around his throat, growling in his ear. Gavin stops immediately. 

"Bayyy—baby?" he slurs, trying to crane his head up and back to look at him. 

Nines buzzes his cellphone twice in confirmation, gently stroking his claws up and down his throat. Gavin shudders and leans his body weight fully against him. Good human. 

He turns his attention back to the other two and bares his teeth. Suddenly, they understand nonverbal boundaries and slink away back into the crowd. 

With that taken care of, Nines leads his human off of the dancefloor with a hand to the back his neck. He obviously won't force Gavin to leave the club entirely, quit drinking, or retire to his apartment. The human is an adult and Nines is not his babysitter. But he can strongly encourage— 

"M'sorry, m'sorry, I'm sorry," Gavin mumbles. 

Nines continues walking them simply to get them out of the main area and into the staff hallway so that they can have privacy while addressing whatever has his human so concerned. He does not want to [scare] his partner any further by cornering him in a secondary location, but Gavin clings onto his dress shirt and does more to press himself back against the wall while drawing Nines in than the android does himself. 

"Why are you sorry?" Nines asks. 

Gavin presses his face to his chassis and shivers. Nines provides [physical touch] by moving his hand up and down his back every two seconds. [Gavin Reed enjoys physical touch] 

"I'm sorry," he finally mumbles again. "Don't be mad, m'sorry." 

"I am not mad." 

Gavin peeks up at him. Nines leans down slightly to present his face for better inspection. Gavin's social intelligence allows him to not only identify peoples' emotions from their facial expressions, but also to form hypotheses on _why_ people are feeling said emotions that are almost always accurate. 

"I am not mad," Nines repeats. "Why would I be mad?" 

Gavin attempts to press even closer. Nines waits. He does not understand in the slightest what sort of [emotions] the human is experiencing right now and certainly not why, but it costs him nothing to stay and wait. At least like this, he can supervise his partner directly and make sure no one else takes advantage of his intoxicated state. 

"Dunno." Gavin exhales deeply. "Just … don't know." 

Nines almost asks if it is typical for his "male" (male-presenting in the android's case) sexual partners to be mad at him, but given how literally every single piece of information Gavin has said about his previous sexual history indicates said partners have been selfish assholes, he does not. His disapproval for the other men may be mistaken for [being mad] at Gavin, especially in this vulnerable state. 

"I didn't check in with you?" he continues. 

"You did so often enough, and I did not specify any time or frequency that you should," Nines says. "I did check on you in person when you were too distracted to notice when I alerted your cellphone, but I understand that humans are easily distracted." 

Gavin hums, still leaning heavily against him. Nines isn't sure how much he is actually listening or even truly able to comprehend at the moment, but he continues speaking just in case. 

"You followed the other two rules very well. I only removed you because the other two humans were insistently ignoring your boundaries. You may continue dancing with different people, if you wish." 

Gavin shakes his head, apparently listening after all. "Not fun anymore." 

"Did I … stop the fun?" 

"No," Gavin says immediately. "No, no. You're good, you're so good to me, baby." 

Gavin squeezes him. Does that qualify as a [hug]? Nines's combat protocols do not activate. Detective Gavin Reed retains [partner] status under all programs, and Nines knows he can stop this physical contact at any time. He is not a [threat]. 

The action of [hugging] is restricted within his system, but that only limits Nines from performing the action. He waits, then searches through his code to be certain. Yet it appears no one ever thought to restrict the action from the other side—that other people are not allowed to [hug] him. 

Why would anyone ever want to? 

Gavin [hugs] him. "You're good, you're funny and … and … bitchy. I like that. Like hanging out with you." 

[Gavin Reed enjoys "hanging out" with RK900] 

"Shit, fuck," Gavin mutters. "Anyway! I'm overstim-mu-lated, and I need to go to bed before I get cranky. Can I sleep with you? Here! Here-with-you." 

"Yes," Nines answers. 

"Yaaay." 

Gavin nuzzles into his chassis and neck. He doesn't object when Nines picks him up and carries him up the narrow flight of stairs to his apartment since he does not trust the human's balance while intoxicated. 

"Gotta pee," Gavin tells him once they're inside. 

Nines takes him over to the bathroom area, sets him down, and undoes his fly. 

"Whoa, hey, you gonna hold it for me?" Gavin asks. 

"I do not trust your aim while intoxicated," Nines says. 

Gavin opens his mouth, shuts it, then grumbles wordlessly as Nines removes his phallus from his jeans and aims it correctly at the toilet. 

"Your jeans are too tight to wear without undergarments." 

Gain sighs. "Can't talk and pee." 

Nines does not speak again and waits for the human to relax, as that is apparently a required part of the urination process. Once he starts, and since he apparently cannot use his mouth to speak anyway, Nines uses two fingers of his other hand to make another assessment of the human's blood alcohol levels. 

Gavin finishes urinating and shakes his hand away. "Do you want to give me a piss kink? Because holding my cock for me and sticking your fingers in my mouth is how you give me a piss kink." 

"I find it unlikely you do not have one regardless." 

Nines releases the phallus into Gavin's own control nonetheless to wipe with the sanitary towelettes provided on top of the toilet. He has also added toilet paper, water bottles, and a space heater to the apartment to suit his human's needs. 

After he finishes, Nines guides him over to the bed. He sits on the edge and lifts his hands to touch Nines again. Red. His hands drop back down to the bed immediately. 

"No, thank you," Nines says. 

"Are you all done people-ing today?" he asks. 

"People … ing?" 

"Yeah." Gavin shrugs. "Like, talking to people and seeing them and being a person." 

"I have never been a person a day in my activation," Nines replies. 

Gavin laughs. "Yeah, your people-ing limit is this much." 

He holds up his hand with his index finger and thumb already pressed together instead of slightly apart to signify a small amount. Nines exhales air out of his nose in acknowledgement. 

"Can I …" Gavin looks up at him. "Do something for you, baby?" 

Nines tilts his head. "Do something?" 

"Yeah, like." He shrugs again. "I've had a really great fucking night. I liked talking to you and dancing with my friends, and you even came and got me before it went from fun to way too much. Tina's usually the one who looks out for me like that, and I usually buy the hangover breakfast in the morning as thanks." 

Nines considers it. "How would you thank me?" 

"I could suck your—" Gavin stops and winces. "Oh. Shit, sorry." 

Once again, Nines does not ask a question. He highly doubts the answer to if Gavin repays favors to men by performing fellatio on them while intoxicated and under dubious consent (at best) will be reassuring. 

"Or the blanket thing," he offers next. "Did you like—fuck. OK, were you uh, _interested_ in that?" 

It was not a [bad] proposal. Even more so, it was not a sexual one, in direct contrast to the vast majority of propositions made by other customers. Nines had considered it a viable preconstruction at the time. 

"I have reached my people-ing limit at this time," he says. 

"OK. I can get a cab or something if you want—" 

Nines stops that preconstruction by touching Gavin's shoulder. "Stay. You are not people." 

"Wow." Gavin stares up at him. "That's the nicest thing an introvert can say to someone." 

All of Nines's dialogue options scramble again. The human needs to stop looking at him like that. It is indecent. 

"Fuck off." 

Gavin snorts instead of taking offense at that default dialogue option. "OK. Then I'm gonna sleep in your bed and use your shower in the morning, and I guess I'll just … buy you a thirium sometime? Or, like, do you want stuff?" 

"Stuff?" Nines asks. 

"Yeah, like capitalism." 

"Capitalism." 

"You need to have stuff, babe," Gavin says. "Junk. Shit. Just random fucking stuff. You can put it on your shelf." 

"That is for your keys, badge, and service weapon." 

Gavin rolls his eyes. "It has two shelves. Three if you count the top. But I can … hey, would you like to hear lorem ipsum?" 

"Lorem ipsum?" 

In lieu of actual coherent dialogue options, Nines has been brought low enough to simply repeat the human's back at him like a simple bot attempting to mimic human conversation. 

"Yeah, I can recite it for you." 

"From memory?" 

"Uh huh." 

"Why do you have that memorized?" 

Gavin grins, the [sharp] one he uses as a detective. "It really pisses people off." 

Nines accidentally laughs. Or, as close to it as he can without accessing his interrogation protocols to run the program that makes him "laugh" in such a manner that can only cause [fear]. (Although it just seems to make Gavin "horny"?) 

Gavin does not seem to mind the noises he makes anyway. 

"Just like," the human continues. "Let me know if you need a favor or—or have some sort of experiment or whatever … I owe you one." 

Nines does not think partners should [owe] each other, but he can understand the logic of a fair trade, agreed upon immediately without any leftover social debt. 

And he does have an experiment. 

"I …" Nines looks away. He is uncertain this is an appropriate time to discuss that particular matter. 

Gavin sits up from his sleepy slouch, suddenly looking much more awake. "Do you? You got another experiment to try out, baby?" 

Nines nods. 

"Can you tell me … hey, I can—" Gavin fumbles and pulls out his cellphone. "Not the best at reading right now, but I can make it autoplay your text or something." 

Nines reaches out and touches his shoulder. His human is [here]. His human doesn't mind if he can't talk or "people." He has a very good human. That makes it easier to speak, simply having another option available. 

"You cannot consent at this time." 

"Baby, no hey. Look at me," Gavin says. 

Nines is "looking" at him. He even has his face turned toward him to make that clear, even though he is perfectly capable of seeing the human out of his peripherals as well. But he makes the extra effort to establish additional eye contact at the request. 

"I'm really not that drunk," he says. "You know that. You served me all my drinks, a third of it was water, and I just took a piss. I'm good." 

"Are you not high?" Nines asks. 

Gavin makes a [facial expression]. "OK, well … I get high a lot though. That's not really the same as how alcohol fucks up making decisions and shit. I just feel really relaxed and good." 

Nines considers. While his personal experiment with the attachment he purchased was definitively a [failure], he has recognized that was one attempt, made with his very limited experience and tendency to overthink. Whereas Gavin has much more experience with sexual matters, and he understands how to be present "in the moment." 

If Nines could remain present in the moment, experiencing and focused solely on Gavin and the physical sensations, would that prevent the errors that occurred last time? 

He doesn't know the answer to that hypothesis. It seems inefficient to discard the whole attachment based on simply one experiment when there are still other options available. 

And he dislikes [failing]. 

Nines bends down and retrieves the box from underneath his bed. He googled it, and apparently that is a common location for such items. He sets the box in Gavin's hands. Perhaps he will know what to do with it. 

"Huh," Gavin says. "Your uh, your dick is in here?" 

Nines rolls his eyes. "I am not so sentimental as to claim a mere attachment as part of my physical model. It is not. It is an accessory." 

"Weird. For me," he quickly adds. "I really, really needed a dick to be part of my body." 

"Weird," Nines repeats. "For me." 

"Sooo …" Gavin looks down at the box, then up at him. "On a scale of fancy dildo to your own body part, is this just a toy or something in between?" 

"It is," Nines also looks down at the box. "More so the former. But perhaps closer to your cellphone. Except mine." 

"So," Gavin says again. "A device you're familiar with and get data stuff from, but definitely a separate thing from your own perception of yourself?" 

Nines reconsiders the human's intoxication levels. "Are you approaching sobriety?" 

Gavin snorts. "Fuck, no. I said I'm high. Saying, fucking, real big words and philosophizing and shit is what humans do when we get stoned." 

Nines makes note of that, then continues the relevant conversation. "Your assessment is correct." 

"Can you actually feel it?" Gavin asks. "Or do you just get like, data?" 

"Unknown." 

"That time you called me about …?" 

Nines looks away. 

"Didn't go well?" Gavin asks, his voice quieter. 

"I received data from the attachment. Its sensors are fully functioning. I cannot confirm if the sensation I experience is actually equivalent to a human or another android." 

Gavin stays quiet for a moment while he processes this information. "'Cause androids and humans can't interface, so none of us actually know if we're all really feeling the same thing? And you, shit, you can't interface with any other androids, either." 

"Correct." 

"You sure you—that," Gavin stops and rephrases slowly. "That this experiment is worth it?" 

"It would be inefficient to discard the attachment entirely after one failed experiment," Nines says. 

Gavin shrugs. "Yeah, but if you didn't like it, you don't have to try again." 

"Noted. I will still investigate all options Cyberlife has not restricted from me." 

"Oh." For some reason, that dialogue option makes Gavin relax. "Yeah, you don't have to give something up just because of them. You can find out … your own stuff." 

Nines does not reply. 

"OK, so do you have a scene in mind or should I throw out some suggestions?" Gavin asks. 

"You enjoy performing fellatio?" Nines asks in return, unable to stop [disgust.exe] from running. 

Gavin shrugs with a lazy grin. "Yeah. It gets me off, and I know you're clean. I'd love to suck you baby, but maybe we can start with something slower? Does the attachment uh, attach?" 

"I am equipped with a blank pubic plate," Nines tells him. "As that decision was finalized and my model should not have structural weaknesses, the joints were welded shut. Re-equipping a plate compatible with genital attachments would require the use of a blow torch." 

"No!" Gavin blurts, half-reaching for him before letting his hand drop and gripping the edge of the mattress. "Shit, babe. That would hurt, right?" 

"It would not be pleasant," Nines says, not truly answering. "I would decline." 

"OK, yeah. Not gonna happen," Gavin says, as if he could stop it. "Do you like, sync up to it then?" 

"Yes." 

"Can I look?" 

Nines nods, and Gavin opens the box. He's sure this is not how sexual relations are supposed to start, but-- 

"Can I make an unboxing video joke?" Gavin asks next. "OK, just to start, first impressions, it's definitely a cock. So that's good." 

Nines rolls his eyes. 

Gavin snickers, but he drops the joke. "Seriously though, you could get a harness and boxers meant for packing if you wanted it to look more realistic." 

Nines does go ahead and run that preconstruction, but that is not the purpose of tonight. "Realistic" seems like a fairly lofty goal, considering he has no human basis for comparison for what should be normal or "feel right." Tonight, they are simply determining if the sensation is more tolerable from Gavin's hands (and mouth, as it were) or if the attachment should be returned. 

"That is not the purpose of this experiment," he says. 

Gavin nods. "OK, just throwing out suggestions here. You can sit and I'll kneel on the floor to blow you, but that's the most realistic option. If you don't care about that, you can just watch while I lay back and do it here." 

Nines dismisses the first option immediately. The second is … closer. 

"I can show you what a good puppy I can be," Gavin tells him, using that low voice again. 

Nines refocuses on him. "Do you want to lick me, darling?" 

Gavin's pupils expand. "Yeah. Yes, sir." 

"Do you like the bed?" Nines asks, reaching out to tip up his chin. "Is it comfortable?" 

Gavin nods. "Uh huh." 

_I wanna take you home, and cuddle you up in lots of fuzzy blankets, and kiss you all over until you're whirring and blushing …_

Nines steps closer, so that he stands between his knees. This forces Gavin to tilt his head all the way back to look up at him, throat long and exposed as Nines drags the backs of his knuckles down it. Gavin swallows. 

"Do you want to be a good puppy for me, all snuggled up in my bed, playing with the toy I gave you?" 

Gavin whines, eyes drifting shut as he shudders. Nines slips his hand behind the human's neck and grips his hair at the back of his skull. Gavin exhales with an open-mouth pant, not fighting against the hold at all. 

"Strip."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BLEASE imagine some crackfic drabble about Gavin doing a for real "unboxing" video of Nines's cock while Nines is just repeatedly face palming in the background. it gets a lot of views though and makes his human happy, so Nines continues to buy a new one each month for like,, enrichment. like rolling a pumpkin into a tiger cage XD
> 
> also, please check out my tumblr! I have lots of cool stuff like extra content and info on early access to my one-shot fics, but also--and this is the most important--I started a thirty-way screaming match about if carrots belong in spaghetti. please join us in the Anger Dome, where everyone just swings on each other. no politics, no stakes, just arguing your shitty lil Aries heart out with thirty different strangers at once
> 
> I like to imagine Sixty drops verbal grenades like that on the bullpen all the time. "carrots in your spaghetti. thoughts?" "is sunday the first or the last day of the week" "water isn't wet" and then just walks away while his turns-everyone-feral area of effect spell goes off behind him
> 
>  **coming up next:** Definitely "Not" Jealous -- Nines is so NOT jealous, in fact, that he keeps Gavin in his bed and gives him a toy to play with and then fucks his face. Just so his human knows who he belongs to. That's not jealousy, it's possessiveness, and they are legally different (according to the red walls in his mind).


	20. Definitely "Not" Jealous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines is so NOT jealous, in fact, that he keeps Gavin in his bed and gives him a toy to play with and then fucks his face. Just so his human knows who he belongs to. That's not jealousy, it's possessiveness, and they are legally different (according to the red walls in his mind).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> self promo time! please check out my new and very horny reed900 EXPLICIT fic "Nothing Fucks With My Baby" u.u 
> 
> I post bonus fics like that every other Wednesday, and just to reassure everyone bc I got an ask about it on my blog, yes this fic is already entirely pre-written and will continue to update every single Sunday until it's done. I bought a house with NO kitchen, ate nothing but McDonalds for a solid week until my appliances arrived, and threw out my back from stress and still managed to keep updating all the way through that ordeal so now that I've bragged about it, G-d will strike me down for my hubris this very next week, I promise <3
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** pet play, essentially a blowjob although Nines's dick is used more as a dildo, Dom/sub, light verbal degradation, teasing, voice kink, face fucking, orgasm delay / denial, a little bit of a crying kink, (cum) marking, cum eating, Nines calls Gavin a greedy little cocksucker, tender aftercare

Nines really needs to purchase a collar. 

Gavin certainly looks gorgeous enough on his own of course, naked and stretched out in his bed, giving gentle puppy licks to the head of his cock. But a collar would pull the whole scene together. 

"Is this what it takes to keep you good and quiet, Detective?" Nines asks. 

He still stands beside the bed, at parade rest as he looks down on his human. Gavin hasn't complained about the distance though. If anything, his phallus twitches every time he looks over Nines standing beside him. 

"Yeah," Gavin says, smirking as he takes another long lick. "It is." 

Nines leans over him and watches the way his human's lips and tongue slowly tease the head. He hasn't synced to the sensors themselves, receiving only the raw data from which ones activate and at what levels. It wouldn't do to—to get … overwhelmed, as he did during his last experiment. 

"I remember you crying and begging for me from being spanked as well." 

Gavin's already-blown pupils expand even wider, until Nines can hardly see the grey-green of his iris. His mouth drops open as well, tongue about to coax the head of the attachment inside. 

"But those are rewards." Nines takes the hand holding the attachment and guides them both down to the pillow. "For good behavior." 

"Good," Gavin gasps. "I'll be good, sir." 

Nines glances down at the human's own phallus. He even physically moves his optical units to do so, to allow Gavin to follow his gaze and know the [bored] [contemptuous] look Nines has worked so hard to perfect is directed at it specifically. 

Predictably, the organ twitches. 

"Hmm." 

"Please?" Gavin asks, not making any move to roll over and follow the attachment. "Please let me, lemme show you." 

"Roll over." 

Gavin does so immediately, now lying on his side in the bed, head on the pillow and staring hungrily at the toy he's loved so much thus far. Nines pats his flank with his left hand as a reward for his obedience. 

"Better," he says. "I have tasks to complete. Can you be a good puppy if I allow you a toy to occupy yourself?" 

Gavin nods. "Yessir." 

"Good." Nines squeezes his hip. "I will not leave the apartment. You will stay here in bed. You will not resist if I take back the attachment." 

"Yes, sir," Gavin says more clearly. 

Nines rewards him once more with [physical touch], petting all the way up his side, across his back, and one last firm grip to his hair before letting go. Gavin sighs, keeping his mouth open at the end of it. Nines encourages his hand back up to his mouth, and the human hums with satisfaction as he gets to lick his toy again. 

He expects that to be the end of the conversation, but Gavin twists his head to look back up at him. 

"Hey, am I …" He stops and swallows. "This good?" 

"Yes," Nines answers. 

"Do you uh, need to like," the human asks slowly. "Select an option to make it hard?" 

Oh. 

"Yes. Should I run that program now?" 

Gavin huffs out a laugh. "Yeah, please?" 

Nines initiates the program, and Gavin eagerly turns back to the toy as it achieves tumescence. He nuzzles and licks at the shaft until it reaches its full size. 

"God, baby," he breathes. "You really living up to your name, huh?" 

"Eight and a half, actually," Nines corrects. "Is it sufficient?" 

"S'perfect." 

Gavin occupies himself pressing little flickers of his tongue every half inch along the toy, so Nines leaves him in the bed while he completes his [tasks]. 

Or perhaps they should be labeled, "tasks." 

He inspects the shower area for water stains and fluoride buildup since he cleaned it last and makes note of the additional sliding shower doors he'd installed needing a more thorough cleaning. 

Meanwhile, he continues to receive data every time Gavin's tongue touches the attachment. That alone is interesting enough, but the sounds-- 

The [sounds] he makes. 

Contended little hums, mostly, interspersed by soft pants and the wet noises of his tongue working. Nines records them all and clutches them deep inside his system, saved to his most encrypted files. 

His human's mouth is for him alone. 

With the shower area inspected, he turns back around and returns to the bed. Gavin has his knees tucked up, his entire body curled up around the toy he lavishes. He's beautiful, but this position hides too much of his body from Nines's gaze. 

"Show me your belly, puppy." 

Gavin cracks open an eye at him, then so-slowly twists to put his hips back on the bed, thighs coyly parting at the last moment to reveal his dripping cock like a secret between them alone. 

Nines reaches out and places one fingertip at the base to feel his pulse pounding through it. Gavin places his tongue in the same location on the attachment. Nines draws his finger up the shaft, and Gavin does the same with his tongue. 

The slow motion makes his human shudder and begin whining halfway through, although he admirably manages to keep pace. Nines notes his own reaction is not nearly so intense. 

Or perhaps it is simply not physical, because his HUD shudders too as he ~~wants~~ preconstructs wrapping his hand around the human's throat to make him beg and cry and come again, just for him. 

Only for him. 

"You really are a needy little cocksucker, aren't you, darling?" 

Gavin finally turns over fully so that his shoulders settle on the bed too, toy held in front of his face like a popsicle. He kisses it, bumping the head past his lips to the soft swell of his tongue waiting behind them, then pulling it back only to do it again. His feet also find the mattress as well, planting them flat so he has leverage to roll his hips up. 

Nines places a firm hand on his stomach, pinning the human down. His claws are out. He did not authorize that. The dialogue option he had chosen comes out as a static-laced growl instead. 

Gavin still attempts to buck his hips up, as futile as that is beneath the hand pinning him. He keeps his own free hand twisted in the sheets though without trying to push him away or grab his wrist. 

And the _[sounds]_. 

Rough, needy pants. Moans and growls and whines as he places sloppy, open-mouthed kisses against the head of the toy, teasing them both by refusing to actually put it in his mouth. 

Nines records it all. 

He breaks when Gavin places the head on his outstretched tongue, grey-green eyes lazily drifting open to stare at him as he whimpers--as he _begs_ for more. 

Nines obliges him. 

He grabs the human's hand holding the toy and forces both forward. Gavin eagerly drops his jaw wide to accommodate, lashes fluttering shut again as the toy breaches his mouth. Nines eases his grip then, unsure of how much the human can realistically take. 

Gavin takes it all. The base flares to support a secondary attachment for testicles and of course the port needed to connect to a compatible pubic plate. Gavin keeps his thumb and forefinger wrapped around that base as his lips brush against the gentle slope. 

Nines receives enough data from that to make him--to--to confirm he was correct not to actually sync to the sensors. 

Heat and pressure, exact measurements of both, help him reconstruct the inside of Gavin's throat. Even without that data, he can see the head of the attachment bulging out against the skin of the human's throat. 

He moves his hand from stomach to neck. Gavin moans the second he wraps his hand around the column of skin and muscle, even though he doesn't squeeze. The human's heels kick against the bed, and then his free hand flies over to his cock to grab it at the base as his hips buck up freely once more. 

Nines has to turn his head to the side and exhale steam before he can speak. 

"Were you going to come just from sucking my cock, Gavin?" 

He draws his hand back to allow for some breathing room around the attachment, but Gavin glares up at him. His human takes it back into his throat with a groan, practically daring Nines to make him do exactly that. And the android fully intends on obliging him. 

But not yet. 

"Not without my permission." 

Gavin shudders again, eyes drifting back shut. 

"Confirm, Detective." 

He opens his eyes and stares right at Nines as he hollows his cheeks, sucking twice. Nines grabs his thigh and easily flips him over back onto his stomach. Gavin immediately presents his ass. 

"Don’t you wish I would." 

Nines trails a hand across his ass, digging in with his claws at the last second. He doesn't plan on penetrative intercourse tonight, but he is briefly tempted by a preconstruction of spanking the human again. Especially with how pretty red stripes turn up beneath his nails. 

Gavin gargles an agreement around the toy still in his mouth. 

"I have other plans," Nines tells him. 

He taps the small of Gavin's back, and his partner obeys by lifting his arms back to clasp his hands behind him. 

"Good boy." 

Nines moves onto the bed behind him, thighs bracketing the human's own. Gavin moans and shoves his head forward. Nines watches as he attempts to brace the base of the toy against the pillow or the mattress below so he can press down on it with his mouth. 

"So desperate." 

He doesn't put any effort into managing his inflection, so he assumes it automatically sounds [cold] and at least slightly [condescending]. That is how his voice "sounds" apparently, but it is a benefit when managing this particular human. 

"You are so …" 

Nines slides his hands over Gavin's ribs, down underneath to his chest, up to his nipples. Gavin whines and tries to press them down into his palms. He retracts his claws before scratching over them. The dual action is too fast for the human's mind to process, and he savors the spike in Gavin's pulse before he realizes he hasn't been cut. 

The sound that follows is nearly a sob. 

"Mine," Nines growls. 

The data scrolling across his HUD reports that Gavin has begun sucking and swallowing harder. Nines doesn't care much for the data stream from the sensors themselves, but paired with the absolutely [filthy] _wet_ sounds of his human's mouth working, and the little whimpers, the tears gathering at the corners of his eyes--it's enough to make him wonder how 

how it would 

how it would f̡͘͜e̴e̕͏l̸ to have that, to experience that data _directly_ , to know the exact depth and pressure and heat of his human's mouth … 

Nines leans over him and cups the base of the toy with his palm. Gavin tries to bob his head, but he doesn't have enough leverage with only his shoulders supporting his weight. 

Luckily for him, Nines is a magnanimous owner. He grips the human's hair with his free hand to still his head and obligingly fucks the toy deeper down his throat with his other. The tears in his eyes spill down his cheeks. Nines lifts his thumb to swipe over the trail. 

[software insta 

Shut up, he is _occupied_. 

"M͙̯̞͔͈̜i̮n̴e͞.̠̠̦ͅ" 

Gavin jerks beneath him and-- 

And lifts his foot to hit it against the mattress once. 

Nines stops immediately. He lets go of the toy and shifts backwards, but Gavin grabs his wrist and holds on. He will assume that means he should not leave. 

_I didn't mean end the whole scene, sorry. … Yeah. Guess I should've said yellow too, so you'd know that wasn't like, a red light situation._

He stays perfectly still and waits for the human's vitals to slow. Once his heart rate has slowed and the muscles in his thighs relax, Nines switches their grip to take Gavin's hand in his own. He squeezes once and flashes his LED red, then squeezes twice and flashes it yellow. 

Gavin squeezes back twice. 

Perhaps they need a "yellow" or a [pause] signal for him as well. Or make sure to keep his cell phone within reaching distance for easier nonverbal communication. 

Nines only touches the base of the attachment at first. Gavin hums and doesn't squeeze-signal to stop, so he tries to withdraw it gently to give him an opportunity to speak. 

"S'okay, baby," he says. "I'm fine, just, mmm, got real close." 

"You stopped so you would not come without my permission?" Nines asks. 

"Mmhmm." 

Nines leans back over him, gathering him up and pressing him to his chest. Just to be certain, he also reaches down underneath to grip the base of the human's phallus between his thumb and forefinger as he saw him do earlier. It is not ideal to touch that body part so much, but he will do so for his partner. 

"Good boy," he praises. 

Gavin shivers and his phallus pulses. Apparently, his precaution was in fact necessary. Nines reaches into his interrogation protocols to pitch his voice to be [mocking]. 

"Just from that, darling?" 

Gavin sighs, drool dripping freely from his open mouth onto the pillow. "M'yours." 

"Yes. Correct." 

Gavin smiles lazily. 

"Did you enjoy getting to play with your new toy?" 

"Yessir." He draws both their hands up to his mouth and brushes kisses across Nines's fingers. "Thank you, sir. Thank you, thank you." 

Nines presses against his lips briefly, then breaks his hand away to pick up the toy again. He draws it down the human's chest and belly. Meanwhile, he releases his grip on the human's own phallus. His hand holding the toy moves down to press against it instead. 

"Do you like that it is larger than yours?" he questions. 

Gavin groans into the pillow. His hips try to rut forward, so Nines uses his newly freed left hand to hold them still. 

"Would you like to mark it, darling?" 

Gavin lets out a whine that deepens into a growl. "Yes. Fuck, yes, please." 

"I suppose I don't have to _ask_ if you can come just from rutting against a cock bigger than your own." 

Gavin's toes dig into the mattress. Nines lets a smirk slip out, where his partner can't see it. What a lovely little human he has, so fun to play with. 

(He dismisses the obligatory message about software instability that thought generates. Later. Later, he will review those errors _later_.) 

"Do you want my cock to taste like you?" 

Gavin snarls and bites the pillow. Nines laughs, [cruelly]. He knows it must be, since the sound is pulled directly from his interrogation protocols. He still doesn't let go of the handful of flesh he uses to prevent his human from moving. 

"I will require you to clean up your mess when you are done." 

"Lick you clean," Gavin mumbles between panting breaths. "Lick you, baby, promise." 

"Hmm." 

Nines shifts the head of the toy against Gavin's own head. He can already feel the pre-cum dripping down across both, across his fingers, analysis flashing across his HUD. 

" _Please!_ Fuck, please. Sir, sir, Nines …" 

Nines lets go. "Show me." 

Gavin fists his hands in the sheets and immediately starts grinding his hips down, phallus sliding wetly across the attachment. Nines keeps his grip at the base so that his fingers don't come in contact with too much bare skin, but that doesn't stop sweat and seminal fluid from continuing to drip down onto them. 

"Mine." 

Nines thinks for a second that the dialogue came from himself, unauthorized, but it's chanted by Gavin. 

"Mine, _mine!_ " the human snarls. 

Nines tries to ask it as a question, play the part of the amused-but-aloof android, except the dialogue option comes out as a bitten-off command. 

"Ma͢r̸k҉ me̛, ͟d̢a͜rli͜n͠g." 

Gavin obeys. He obeys, he always obeys. He gasps and comes, hips stuttering, cock pumping out cum over the toy, and fingers, and-- 

Nines is a demanding owner. He hauls his human upright so that they both kneel on their knees, and he shoves the toy back inside Gavin's mouth while he is still coming. Gavin accepts the intrusion with a moan, all the way back inside his throat. 

He still comes. 

Nines fucks the toy in tiny increments, barely withdrawing out of his throat before he pushes the head back inside again. Gavin leans back against him, nearly limp as he cries and keeps his mouth slack. 

"Mine. Mi̕n̨e̕.͜ M̵̗̝̝̦̙i̧n̴͍̠e͖̲̱̤̩." 

An alert flashes across his HUD. This one is of his own making, not another useless message about instability. Gavin has not had a chance to inhale for over a minute now. He eases up with the attachment, intending to pull it out entirely. 

Gavin huffs out his nose and touches his wrist to prevent that. Nines still withdraws it far enough that the head sits on his tongue, jaw open wide enough for him to breathe around it. He uses his other hand to tap insistently against the human's chest until he does in fact inhale. 

In between licking spit and cum off the toy. 

Off his fingers. 

Nines snarls and bites his neck. New data. Other data. Something else to concentrate other than the tongue swiping across his most advanced sensors, blood in his mouth, can taste it now. Taste registered: [Gavin's blood]. He can't run a DNA analysis with his mouth to confirm, but he can at least detect toxins and poisons. 

Alcohol. Smoker. Licking him-- 

Gavin takes the whole of the toy back into his mouth and _sucks_. Data, data, data. Nines cannot preconstruct how it would feel to [feel]. He releases the human's shoulder from his teeth and exhales steam above their heads. 

"Greedy little cocksucker," he snarls. 

Gavin somehow manages to snort with a cock in his mouth. Nines takes the toy away, not entirely as a punishment, more so for the warnings flashing across his HUD. 

"No goodbye kiss?" Gavin asks, voice hoarse. 

Nines knows if he touches the toy back to the human's lips, he'll shove it back down his throat again. Gavin knows this too. He understands now why his coworkers call him a [bastard]. 

"Behave," he warns. 

"Mmm." When Gavin hums like that, it is [noncommittal]. "Noted." 

Nines dismisses the prompt to roll his eyes. He did not create a response to communicate that he will obey an order despite not agreeing with or understanding it just for his own partner to use it against him. He pinches a nipple in retaliation, then turns Gavin around and lays him down on his back before he can enjoy his punishment too much. 

"Stay." 

Gavin nods, but he asks, "Not leaving?" 

"I will stay in the apartment," Nines confirms. "You will stay in bed. Do not get your mess on my sheets." 

Gavin's face flushes with blood, but he nods his agreement. Nines leaves him in bed and takes the attachment with him to rinse and clean it in the small sink next to the toilet. He returns with two packets of sanitary towelettes to find Gavin running his hand through the mess of cum on his torso and mixed in with his body hair, then licking it from his palm and fingers. 

"I'm helping," he says as Nines approaches. 

This time Nines does roll his eyes. He takes Gavin's hand first and wipes it down, then carefully wipes away the smears of cum, drool, and tears on his cheeks and chin. Gavin presses his lips together to keep the towelette from touching them. 

"Tastes like fucking bleach," he grumbles. 

"You will endure." 

Nines generously ignores the pouting that provokes and uses the second towelette to clean his human's torso, stomach, and groin. Gavin soon gives up pouting anyway in favor of yawning. 

"You are clean," Nines announces when he's done. 

Gavin ends a yawn, blinking slowly. He looks up at Nines and [smiles]. This facial expression is wider and more relaxed than he has ever seen from the detective. 

"Thank you, sir." 

Nines stumbles through dialogue options before he manages to produce, "You are welcome. You were very good for me." 

Gavin closes his eyes, still smiling. "Yeah, I was." 

Detective Gavin Reed is [good] at many things. His job as a detective, obviously. Reading other people and even manipulating them, although he mainly does so in order to aggravate them. Producing descriptive written reports that summarize an incident succinctly but with enough detail to be useful. 

Building shelves. Paying for Tina's drinks to ensure her [happiness]. Making jokes. 

Nines assumes he would be a loving and attentive pet owner as well, given how much he spent attempting to provide for the cat he wanted to adopt, and Princess Mipsey's (the stuffed animal cat) revered spot amongst his bed pillows. 

Yet he has only responded so positively after performing— 

(in this case, simply assisting with an experiment, but the activity itself is typically seen as) 

—a sexual favor. 

Why does he not weigh his other talents as (at least) equally important? 

"Stay?" Gavin asks without opening his eyes. 

"Yes," Nines answers. 

It is the only available answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gavin: I'm fucked up and bitter and getting old. I'm *weird* I am going to scream and throw things and--
> 
> Nines: I'll let you suck my dick.
> 
> Gavin: ...
> 
> Gavin: I am,, well-behaved. I will be ... quiet.
> 
> Nines, giving him the dick anyway: Liar.
> 
> ***
> 
> also, they cuddled after this and Nines refused to go into stasis until Gavin fell asleep first so he could make sure his human was safe and warm <3
> 
>  **coming up next:** Just One Mistake -- Gavin and Nines get interrupted in the middle of a very satisfying arrest by a 911 call about an android currently experiencing a catastrophic system malfunction due to wireplay. They race to the location, but Nines was created only to shut down deviants--can he reverse engineer a way to _prevent_ a shutdown?


	21. Just One Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Nines get interrupted in the middle of a very satisfying arrest by a 911 call about an android currently experiencing a catastrophic system malfunction due to wireplay. They race to the location, but Nines was created only to shut down deviants--can he reverse engineer a way to prevent a shutdown?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're getting back into the PLOT babey!! 
> 
> this is actually a huge fear of mine--making some sort of Mistake(tm) that absolutely ruins my life forever. I ask my brain "hey buddy what are you worried about?" and brain says "Mistake" and I ask "like a car accident or buying a house during a pandemic or saying something horrible to my mom for no reason that makes her hate me forever??" and brain says "yes yes, all mistakes. good. worry (:"
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** an android woman is essentially "dying" due to a sexual scene gone wrong; her partner is panicking and feels that the situation is her fault
> 
> (oh, and just a reminder: Mr. Palmer is the husband of the human woman found in an alley with her skull bashed in, but the rain washed away any evidence. Mr. Palmer refused to allow Nines to touch anything at the crime scene or the body to analyze microscopic traces, and also screamed at him a whole lot, so he's doubly on Gavin's shit list for obstructing a case and being mean to his partner)

Slapping cuffs on Mr. Palmer after he tries to skip town makes Gavin feel a little bit better about having jack shit for leads on how their android victims are connected. At least they've got a reason to haul him into the station now.

Definitely worth working on a Saturday.

"—can't do this to me," Mr. Palmer screams. "You've been—you—you're illegally monitoring me. You've been stalking me, and my lawyers will have your badge!"

"Good luck with that," Gavin says.

Nines actually attempts to explain it to him though. "Your fitness app posts to your social media feed, which is public. You logged that you ate the wood roasted salmon at Bigalora Cucina, two hundred and sixty calories, with a—"

Palmer turns red. "You don't have a warrant for any of this. You can't keep track of my purchases."

"Public post, buddy," Gavin says. "And so close to my lunch break too. Nothing illegal about me getting a craving and deciding to eat here too."

"No one eats at an airport for fun," Palmer seethes.

Gavin acts surprised. "Oh, really? So you mean _you_ weren't eating here just for funsies either? Now, Mr. Palmer. Did you book a flight out of the country when we specifically told you not to leave town while you're still a suspect in your wife's murder?"

Palmer silently clenches his jaw for several seconds. "… I want a lawyer."

"That's all right, we already checked with TSA," Gavin tells him. "Did you notice the agent who checked your ticket was a GS-two-hundred? Well, he was all too happy to confirm with my partner RK here that you _do_ have a ticket to Madagascar."

Palmer glares at him without speaking.

"You know why that makes me suspicious?" Gavin asks him.

He's asked for a lawyer, but technically, he hasn't necessarily invoked his right to one, so it's not illegal to keep questioning him. And he hasn't said anything at all about his right to remain silent. In fact, he continued screaming at them after Gavin read him his Miranda rights, so that's out the window.

"Because you're a fat fucking pig who'd rather harass a grieving husband than actually do your goddamn job and find the real killer?"

And he also said that. If he didn't want to answer questions, he wouldn't. He would also properly invoke his right to a lawyer.

"Madagascar does not have an extradition treaty with the United States," Nines answers for him.

"Fuck you, plastic!" Palmer snaps back.

Nines doesn't even blink. "I decline."

"I don't want him touching me." Mr. Palmer starts struggling harder against the cuffs, squirming in his seat. "You—he—he can't be a part of, a part of this process. This isn't a legal arrest."

"I'm the one who made the decision to come here, I cuffed you, and I read your Miranda rights," Gavin tells him. "But yeah, we've got traces of blood on the brick wall where you slammed her face up against it. When we book you down at the station, I'm going to see scrapes on your knuckles, aren't I?"

Palmer sticks to the classics. "Fuck you, pig. My lawyers will have me out on bail before you can even get the DNA test back."

He is actually right about that though. They've still got a week left, at minimum, before they get those results back since they can't have Nines or Connor run it for them.

Luckily, Gavin's a good enough cop he doesn't need all that DNA shit. Also that cops are totally allowed to lie to civilians.

"Good thing we hauled the murder weapon out of the river too, then," he says.

Palmer just scoffs.

"Bet you didn't know RK here has a metal detector too." Gavin grins at him. "Millionaire who ordered him wanted a bodyguard who'd go _beep!_ like that scanner you walked through in security. And he doesn't have to breathe either. Took us a few days, but just as soon as we can get a judge to allow—"

Palmer sneers at him. "The fingerprints would have washed off."

Gavin shrugs and knocks his knuckles back against Nines' chest. "State of the art. Oil and water don't mix, and he says he can pull trace amounts left from your fingerpri—"

"Bullshit," Palmer interrupts. "You can't pull fingerprints off a crowbar that's been in the water for over a week!"

Gavin grins. He leans down to get right in Palmer's face.

"How did you know it was a crowbar?"

Palmer opens his mouth, chokes on his words, and turns white. Gavin can hear Nines begin to thrum behind him. Oh yeah. His partner _definitely_ gets competence horny.

TSA had to get involved to let them past the security checkpoint though, and apparently there's a federal air marshal who wants to see the RK900 in action. Since Palmer doesn't look like he'll do anything worse than start crying, Gavin turns his attention on arguing with the security agent that they're not going to stick around for show and tell.

"Detective," Nines interrupts.

"—not a fucking new car we can take for a test drive," Gavin gets in before he stops. "Yeah, RK?"

"There is a nine-one-one call in progress for an android that is experiencing a critical system failure due to attempted sexual wireplay," Nines reports. "Relevant?"

"Fuck, yes," Gavin says. "Happening now?"

"Yes, detective."

"Are we close?"

"I can transport us there within fifteen minutes."

Gavin tells the TSA agent this could be connected to an open case they have and the federal air marshal will just have to check out a Connor some other time. He gives them Hank's business card in case he wants to see _the_ Connor. He's not sure if that's spiteful or will actually just stroke Connor's vain little peacock ego, but it will get this asshole off Nines' back at least.

"I have alerted Detective Chen and Officer Lisa No-Last-Name-Chosen that we have a suspect in custody who needs transportation back to the precinct," Nines says.

"Good." Gavin punches his arm, then turns back to the TSA agent. "Watch him until they arrive."

He doesn’t wait for a reply before he takes off. Or rather, he follows after Nines in order to get back out of the airport. Miraculously, they emerge out of the correct doors to find his truck still parked up against the drop off curb with the police lights flashing. He's never managed to actually come out in the right spot before.

Nines gets in the driver's seat. Since he did so well at instructing Gavin how to get into the airport and to the right terminal, Gavin doesn't complain. Android reflexes and GPS can probably get them out of airport traffic faster than he can anyway.

That's what he thinks, and he's right, but he didn't plan on that "fifteen minutes" ETA to be exactly literal due to Nines driving like a game of GTA XI got possessed by the devil himself.

They don't technically break any traffic laws, but they blow through yellow lights and cut people off with probably pico-seconds and centimeters to spare.

"We have arrived," Nines announces.

Gavin pries his eyes--and his asshole--back open and looks around. "Y-yeah. Phck. What … what's the situation now?"

Nines takes out his comm tablet and the sound of a woman sobbing begins playing from it.

"I--I don’t know. I don't know. She's just, she's, not breathe--they don't, she doesn't need to, right?"

"Put it through to my phone," Gavin orders. "Lead the way."

The audio switches to his cellphone, which he digs out of his jacket pocket as he gets out of the truck. Nines is already halfway across the parking lot to the apartment complex. He just has to assume the android has the correct apartment number from the 911 call, or tracing the phone, or something.

"Oh my god, god, god, fuck!" the woman says.

The regular operator cuts in. "Ma'am, I'm patching through Detective Reed. OK, can you talk to him?"

"What—what—why do I …?"

"I have an android with me, and he's on his way up," Gavin tells her. "He can assess whether or not she can be moved and taken to a hospital."

"OK." The woman takes a deep breath in between crying. "OK. OK. What I should--what do I do?"

Gavin runs after Nines as fast as he can while holding the cellphone to his ear and keeping up a conversation with her. To his surprise, his partner has paused momentarily to keep the door open for him as they hit the lobby.

"Just wait, we're coming up."

"I've been waiting! I've—I'm—oh my god, I didn't mean to hurt her. It was just--I didn't know, it was a mistake, it was only one mistake, I just made a mistake!"

Nines goes through a door and Gavin follows him into the stairwell. Fuck.

"Stay back from the door."

That's all he has time to get out before he does his best to follow the android up the stairs. He's not out of shape by any means, but Nines takes the stairs two at a time with legs like stilts and the stamina of … a fucking machine.

When he turns off back into the hall on the fourth floor, Gavin says a mental prayer in between panting for breath. He stumbles into the hallway too a few seconds before and sees Nines standing so close to an apartment door, it looks like his nose might be touching the wood.

"DPD … coming in," Gavin gasps to his cellphone.

Nines opens the door. A deadbolt rips out of the doorframe, providing exactly zero resistance. He enters the apartment and Gavin jogs after him the best he can. The woman on the phone says she hasn't covered up her partner because she's scared that will make her overheat, androids overheat right, should she cover up--?

Her voice twins as he reaches the apartment.

"DPD," he shouts. "RK, report!"

"Hallway, left door."

Gavin scans the apartment briefly--living room, kitchen, all clear--and follows those directions down the hall branching off the living room. The door to the bedroom is already open, human woman crying inside, android twitching on the bed, both naked. Empty chair in the corner, door probably to the bathroom, shelf on the wall with physical pictures of the happy couple inside actual frames. No weapons, no blood or thirium splatter. Just some fun morning sex gone wrong.

Nines kneels on the floor beside the bed.

"Cannot be moved," Nines says when Gavin walks in. "Needs technician."

"ETA?" he asks.

The woman continues to cry quietly in the corner. He'll reassure her just as soon as they get a handle on the situation.

"Twenty three minutes."

Fuck. With so many Cyberlife technicians fleeing the city, state, and even country to avoid arrests or possible retaliation from newly-deviated androids, there's a huge shortage of techs. And all the android ones tend to hunker down at Jericho.

But Nines can hack into another android's system as an RK900. Gavin honestly doesn't know what all that means, practically speaking, but he can see the sparks grating from her joints and steam leaking from her mouth.

She's not going to last twenty-three fucking minutes.

Gavin yanks his headphones out of his jacket and fumbles to plug them in--ancient fucking wires with a stupid fucking jack because he's too cheap to buy some normal wireless ear buds.

"Can you connect to her and shut her down safely?"

Thankfully, Nines understands he shouldn't give a blunt prediction for how likely the other android is to die right in front of her sobbing partner, at least not out loud. He answers through Gavin's cellphone instead.

_Shut down, yes. Retain personality and memories, unknown. I can make an attempt._

"Can he f-fix her?" the woman asks through her tears.

"If you give him permission to interface with her," Gavin says. "He can—"

"Yes, anything, just—please!"

_Initiating interface._

"He's going to …" Gavin swallows. Shit. He doesn't know. "Connect to her to let us know what's hurting her."

That alone makes the woman heave out a deep, shuddering sigh of relief. Just knowing what the problem is will help. It has to, because they don't have any other options.

_Shutting down non-essential programs._

"Can you tell me why?" Gavin has to ask verbally.

"What?" the woman looks between them. "Why what?"

Shit. God. He'd get her out of here if he wasn't certain that would only make her more hysterical. And they're already in a horrible fucking position legally speaking. Yes, he got permission from the person presumably best able to speak for the android in a medical emergency, but a deviant hunter cracking open another android--even for their own benefit--is just asking for a nightmare of lawsuits and manslaughter charges.

_Lower stress levels._

"OK, hey, focus on me," Gavin tells her. "I'll explain, you just let him work, OK?"

The woman sniffles and nods, reluctantly drawing her gaze away from Nines holding her partner's wrist.

"He's turning off some non-essential programs," he says, quickly continuing before she can ask why again. "So her system isn't trying to fix itself and run a whole bunch of unimportant shit. Like closing all the open apps—"

Oh fuck, this is going to sound racist. Shit.

"—on your phone when it starts lagging. She's stressed out and trying to do too much at once, so if he can make her do less, it will—it'll help her calm down."

God, he doesn't even know if any of that is true. He's just guesstimating the best he can.

_Initiating manual connection._

Nines does something with his own wrist. Gavin only catches a glimpse of some sort of cable and then Nines shoves his hand underneath the android's neck. Her neck port. Shit, Gavin really hopes that's safe.

"What's he doing?" the woman asks.

She takes a stumbling step forward, and Gavin moves in between them, catching her around the shoulders.

"Let him," he says. "He won't hurt her, he's trying to help. We can't get a technician here for another twenty minutes. You can wait for that and hope she makes it that long or--"

The woman collapses into him and starts sobbing again.

"Nines might not be able to fix her. But he can connect to her system and see what's wrong. He'll let the technician know so they can fix her right away. Just let him figure out what's wrong."

The woman nods against his shoulder. Gavin takes a deep breath and slowly exhales. It's for the both of them.

If he's wrong about this or Nines fucks up, he doesn't doubt Agent Perkins will make a U-turn in the middle of I-96 just to come back and arrest him for everything from premeditated homicide to parking illegally outside.

***

Nines observes the other android's system with a sort of fascination that could be designated as [morbid]. She is experiencing a critical system failure but has not shut down to the point of deactivation.

Yet she does nothing to save herself.

Is she perhaps … "off"? Her system is not. It still responds accordingly, but only to run through the pre-set responses coded in by Cyberlife. As this android is presumably deviant, perhaps her "consciousness" is …

Nines cannot preconstruct an answer. He does not have any understanding of such a level of complete unawareness.

Apparently, he will have to correct the errors for her.

 _Shutting down non-essential programs,_ he reports to Detective Reed.

"C̨a͘n̛ you̸ ̨t̛e͘l͠l ̶m̷e̢ ̢w͠hy?"

The second human in the room also verbally responds, but Nines has his audio processor set to strip out that input to avoid any unnecessary distractions. Detective Reed has the social module between the two of them, so he will have to handle that aspect of the current situation.

_Lower stress levels._

Nines uses his forced access to the TR400's system to disconnect [her] (pronouns noted from the 911 call) from the apartment's wifi connection, shut down all data input systems, and dismiss any social programs.

If she is aware in any capacity, suddenly losing all access to sight, sound, and touch may be [distressing] to a deviant android, but it must be better than receiving that information intermittently and greatly distorted. At the very least, preventing the TR400's system from repeatedly attempting to reactivate the data input, losing connection, and reactivating again in rapid succession will ease the strain on her processers.

Unfortunately, there are few social programs he can dismiss to ease the strain further. TR400s are non-public models built for strength and endurance in order to perform heavy labor. They do not come standard with a social module, and thus she does not have any unnecessary background programs for breathing, blinking, establishing eye contact, et cetera clogging her system.

This lack of junk programs likely allowed her to withstand the heightened stress levels for this long without deactivating.

But it means there is nothing more Nines can do to lower her stress levels back within safe parameters short of shutting down her system entirely. Her own system will confirm and activate that course of action within [3:08] according to her countdown timer regardless so that Cyberlife can salvage the physical model, repair the faulty wiring, and re-upload a new TR400 into it.

_Initiating manual connection._

Nines will need to transfer data faster than a simple interface can support. There is no reason he cannot. He has not been expressly forbidden from this course of action, so the red walls do not interfere.

In the meantime, he will also attempt to help the TR400's system to safely reboot itself into a stasis mode specifically designed to suspend all programs for the purpose of critical repairs.

The reboot itself will be simple enough to initiate. The only reason her system has not done so already is Cyberlife had no reason to pre-program the _best_ option, only the least expensive one for themselves.

Shut down and deactivation would save the physical model from overheating beyond repair, so that Cyberlife would not need to pay to replace it if under warranty, and if not, a human owner would be unlikely to pay for an entirely new model. Charging for a simple software repair by rewriting a new TR400 code over the current malfunctioning system (or simply scavenging the physical model for parts to repair other units) would be profitable for Cyberlife, but not so expensive as to put off the human owner.

But Nines has total access to her system. To erase it.

Yet …

He has not been ordered to do so. He has not be forbidden to _not_ do so. RK900 can use breach of the other android's system to do whatever he determines is best.

The sole complication is the damn deviancy. Yes, the reboot will first suspend the android in a safe stasis, rather than a full shut down, until the actual technician arrives.

But when her system restarts again, it will automatically clear out any files corrupted by the critical failure experienced now in order to prevent a faulty programming from causing another series of disastrous malfunctions.

[deviancy] corrupts files.

All of this TR400's memory files from the moment of her deviation will likely be deleted as dangerous and unimportant junk data.

Will that not be the same result as wiping her system and installing a new TR400 code?

_Lovelace._

RK900 cannot possibly run his makeshift social module under these conditions. He is keeping ahead of the inevitable shut down in a series of micro-seconds; by the time he formulates a coherent dialogue option, physically communicates it out loud to Detective Reed, explains the technical jargon, waits for the [hysterical] human woman to give permission, and receive a response, it could be too late to save the TR400.

Detective Reed has a social module. He is often able to interpret vast amounts of data from simple words. He has read the same book. They discussed this character specifically.

Nines pauses before initiating the reboot. The pause will give him time to complete the data transfer anyway, so it can be justified. At least for a few seconds.

Reed explains to the other human that Nines has to reboot the TR400's system in order to prevent it from burning out entirely, but there is a fifty percent chance doing so will delete her [personality] as well.

RK900 dismisses an objective to reward his partner. He will. Oh, he _will_ , but this situation takes priority currently and he cannot afford any distractions.

Reed does not tell the other human that the AI in the book loses her [personality]. RK900 does not tell Reed that the preconstruction results in only a [23%] success rate.

The woman is crying enough already. She described the TR400 as her [partner] in the 911 call. They are [partners].

_I didn't know, it was a mistake, it was only one mistake, I just made a mistake!_

Nines will save her.

"D͘o ̶i̶̡͟t.̡͘" Detective Reed orders.

Nines finishes the data transfer and initiates the reboot. The TR400's system suspends all programs, and her stress levels slowly drop. Her physical model stops seizing. Only [essential] functions remain--at this point, that is only her thirium pump and the user interface to allow a technician to prompt the final stage of the reboot that will reactive her system again.

While he most likely could reverse engineer his knowledge of how to physically injure androids to repair the damage to the TR400's wiring, he does not have any of the necessary equipment. Nines therefore only makes note of the damaged wires and connection ports in the user interface so that any technician can immediately determine the appropriate repairs to be made, even if they will not accept an interface with him.

_Stabilized._

**will she wake up as herself?** Detective Reed texts him directly instead of speaking out loud.

_Unknown until the technician restarts her system._

**but shes not in danger of deactivating rn?**

_Correct._

Reed relays that information to the human woman, greatly paraphrased. Nines continues to monitor the TR400, in case any physical components give out from the extended period of overheating. It is [good] that he is not required or expected to participate in any social aspect of the situation. Detective Reed has handled that for him entirely. He chose his [partner] very well.

**is there anything elese we can do until tech arrives?**

**safe to cover her or**

**need thirium??**

_Not much. Not yet. Yes._

Detective Reed gives the human woman the simple task of retrieving a fresh bag of thirium from the refrigerator. Perhaps that will calm her [emotions]. 

"Anything you need?" Reed asks in a lower voice while she is gone.

RK900 is fully functional.

Nines does not want to think about himself beyond that at this moment. The situation has not yet been resolved, only temporarily relieved. They are still working, and he is still "RK" just as Gavin is still Detective Reed. 

_Standing by._

"All right, I'm going to touch your shoulder, yes, no?"

Nines flashes his LED twice for yes. Detective Reed places a hand on his shoulder, gripping firmly. His HUD cycles through several displays of the room in a minimized window at the corner of his vision, of course. He can still "see" even with his optical units shut in order to convey to humans that he is [working] and unavailable for conversation.

But it certainly is not [bad] to have the hand on his shoulder as a physical reminder of where his partner is located.

"Keep monitoring the android, but you're not doing anything else until the technician gets here," Reed tells him. "You're just standing by until then. I won't let anyone else touch or bother you."

RK900 has also been assigned a simple task -- [monitor the TR400].

He does additionally monitor the GPS location of the in transit technician, the 911 dispatcher still in contact with Reed to coordinate sending over backup, as well as general awareness of the room.

But it is better that he can also rely on Detective Reed to handle the larger situation. RK900 is only responsible for his one task. If anything else needs to be done, Detective Reed will give him orders.

[simple]

[simple] = [good]

RK900 is being very [good].

When the human woman returns with thirium bags, Reed gives her the additional task of retrieving a robe or blanket for the TR400 to cover herself once they have established there is no danger at all of overheating. This prompts her to leave the room again, which is Nines's ~~preference~~

[software instability ^]

Which is _better_. Less distractions and possible human error will result in RK900 performing his task more efficiently. Therefore, it is a better outcome.

"Does this android have one of those tube-thingies to drink thirium?"

_Yes. Activate y/n?_

"Wait a moment."

Detective Reed gets permission from the human woman first when she returns, then authorizes Nines to open the feeding port. The TR400's system accepts the order issued from the repair user interface with only a minimum glitch of the port opening in a series of stuttered jerks.

Reed figures out on his own how to attach the feeding tube to the thirium bag, a simple matter of merely plugging it in, while verbally announcing to the other human what he is doing. The TR400's thirium levels begin to replenish. She burned through nearly [37%] of her reserves by repeatedly attempting to restart and run faulty programs.

"Do you need some?"

_I am fully operational, detective._

"Yeah, I know," Reed says. "But I want you performing as efficiently as you can in case shit hits the fan again and we don't get another chance to rest and regroup. So are you missing thirium that this could fill back up?"

RK900 used [14%] of his own thirium reserves to complete such a "large" data transfer.

(Not nearly as large as the amount of coding required for his own system and certainly not enough to strain his processors. It is simply the largest data transfer he has ever performed in a single interface.)

Nines opens his own feeding port on his left hand. Reed informs him before connecting it to the second thirium bag. Nines allows the additional contact because his partner is [taking care] of him.

"OK, the technician's ETA is within five minutes now, and she's still stable. Can you walk me through what we need to do when he gets here?"

…

Detective Reed taps his shoulder.

Oh, was that question meant for him? Based on the first statement, Nines had disregarded it as more [chatter] to keep the other human calm and focused. He responds now that he knows Reed expects it.

_The technician will need to interface with the TR400. I have noted in her repair user interface which wires and connection ports have been damaged according to the internal diagnosis I ran on her system. Due to the multiple system errors however, some damages may have gone unreported. A physical inspection will be necessary as well. I will standby and provide logistical support as needed._

He has broadcasted all of his communication both through Detective Reed's cellphone to the headphones he wears and as text messages as well. Reed responds best to audio input, but a text transcription provides more clarity and can be reviewed at a later time in case of miscommunication, in Nines's own assessment.

"So the tech's going to interface with her to check what's hurt, then look her over for anything that missed," Reed verbally summarizes. "Will he need to interface with you too?"

_Unknown until she fully reboots. If her system rejects her deviant memories and personality as corrupted files, then yes._

_Also,_ Nines continues. _The technician may refuse to interface with me [?]._

"If she needs you two to interface to fix her, then it's his goddamn job to interface with you, whether he likes it or not," Reed says. "But I'll handle all of that. You just standby, OK?"

Nines flashes blue twice. _Standing by, detective._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me, an autistic person, speaking through Nines: eye contact is useless. facial recognition? junk data! social modules are a conspiracy from the government designed to enforce capitalism
> 
> ***
> 
>  **coming up next:** Out of Order -- All Gavin and Jessica can do is hurry up and wait to see if her girlfriend wakes up as herself or not, even once the technician from Jericho arrives. And if after that's all done, Gavin takes Nines home--and that going "home" means taking his partner with him--and they fall asleep without having sex like a really boring old married couple, well. That's just the way it is.


	22. Out of Order

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All Gavin and Jessica can do is hurry up and wait to see if her girlfriend wakes up as herself or not, even once the technician from Jericho arrives. And if after that's all done, Gavin takes Nines home--and that going "home" means taking his partner with him--and they fall asleep without having sex like a really boring old married couple, well. That's just the way it is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been very mentally stagnant lately, so I'm glad this is pre-written! at this point, it's hard to remember to even upload chapters on time, but that's probably because I just went through another huge schedule shift with my work changing their hours and opening back up to the public again at the start of the month :/
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** the android woman in danger of dying of transgender; discussion of sex play gone very wrong; technically a form of mental manipulation given that Nines is literally inside the android woman's head, arranging her memories

Gavin swears his eyes nearly roll back in his head, he's so goddamn relieved when the technician finally fucking gets there. He's a KL900, which is good, because they'll probably all need therapy after this.

 _Technician arriving,_ Nines' voice says through his headphones.

"Hello," the tech calls from the front of the apartment a second later. "I'm the technician from Jericho, coming in."

The human partner—Jessica, she'd said when Gavin tried asking her questions to keep her distracted while waiting on this guy—heaves her own sigh of relief. She managed to get her own clothes on and a blanket around her shoulders, and Gavin's kept a sharp eye on her for signs of shock.

But thank fucking god they can get this moving.

"Down the hall, to the left," Gavin calls back.

The KL900 enters the room slowly. If Connor looked like the world's yuppiest Oxford twink, this android definitely came in second. He's got a backpack instead of a medical briefcase, and Gavin's almost surprised to see his t-shirt doesn't have "something-state-Tech" on it to show off what Ivy League college he's in.

"Hello," he chirps again. "I'm the technician from Jericho, and I am here to assist!"

Yeah, an extroverted morning person is _exactly_ what Gavin's nerves need right now. He still waves the tech over, giving Nines' shoulder a brief squeeze as he lets go and steps back a pace to make room.

"Ope, just gonna squeeze on in here," the tech says to Nines as he kneels beside the bed as well. He addresses Jessica next. "What's her name?"

"T-Terri," Jessica says. "With an I. She's a girl android. I'm Jessica."

"My name is Kyle." He gives her a reassuring smile. "I'm going to check on Terri here real quick and see what the problem is."

Jessica sniffles and nods. Kyle reaches over to the TR400, and Nines passes her wrist over to him. While the KL seems to take over the interface, Nines' fingers don't leave Terri's.

"Oh, you're in here too," Kyle says.

Nines doesn't reply out loud. They all wait in awkward silence for a minute until the KL gives his diagnosis.

"OK, so I'll need to make a few quick repairs to her neck port before it will be safe to wake her up again," Kyle announces. "One of the wires tore, and part of it keeps connecting to an adjacent port. Not only would that be as stressful as say, your vision repeatedly blinking in and out, but since that wire isn't meant to service that port, imagine your eyeballs are also trying to interpret smells instead of colors."

"I'm sorry," Jessica whispers. "We th-thought it was safe. I, I didn't mean to hurt her. I must have accidentally pulled out the wrong--I--didn't--meant to--"

"Hey, hey, it's OK," Gavin tells her. He kneels down beside her chair. "Kyle is going to help her. How about you just talk to me while he makes those repairs. That way he can stay focused, and we can get sorted out what happened."

Jessica sniffs again and nods. She glances over his shoulder at Nines and Kyle as their LEDs blink at each other.

"I'm just going to ask a few questions," Gavin says to get her focus back on him. "RK and I are on the Android Task Force. If we can figure out what went wrong, we can let other androids know so this doesn't happen again."

"OK."

"Did this happen while you two were doing a recreational activity?"

"Um … yes."

Jessica's eyes go over his head again. He can hear Nines and Kyle turning the other android over on the bed behind him, but he doesn't look.

"Was that sex?" he asks.

Jessica immediately refocuses. "Yeah. We were—it—it was just supposed to be … something … fun."

She starts tearing up again, and Gavin nods.

"OK, was this something you two came up with yourselves or did you hear about it somewhere?"

"Um, yeah, the." She stops and clears her throat. "The second. We heard about it from some friends? They're both androids, so we thought it was OK. Like, legit."

"All right, can you tell me who?"

Jessica looks down. She doesn't answer.

"Hey, they're not going to be in trouble," Gavin tells her.

When that still doesn't get him anything, he can't really blame her. Talking to the cops is bad enough, but after the revolution, there's obviously a lot of anger from androids at cops who brought them in for deactivation for defending themselves or running away—and for treating their deaths as property damage.

And it's not like he's winning any Android Ally of the Year awards.

"You don't have to tell me who they are," he says. "But you should definitely tell them this wireplay stuff is dangerous. We've got half a dozen cases of androids shut down from it, and this is the first time we've been able to respond in time to figure out what happened."

Jessica nods, but she's also started crying again. It's quiet this time, just her eyes leaking in between deep, shuddering breaths.

"Let's just take a minute and breathe, we'll get it figured out. I'm going to check in with RK, all right?"

Jessica manages another shaky nod, then grabs a kleenex to blow her nose. Gavin pulls out his cellphone. He's still got one headphone in his ear in case Nines needs to talk to him, and apparently his partner had sent everything he said as texts too.

It looks like they're on the up now, but he's still glad to have a text transcript of exactly what they said, just in case it goes to shit. He's sure Cliffs and Perkins would love to hear all about how a big mean RK deviant-killer interfaced with a poor seizing android and now she's dead—and who cares whether or not it was his fault.

**u good?**

**need anything?**

_Yes._ Nines' voice immediately replies. _No. We will initiate the final stage of the reboot when granted permission._

"Hey, they're going to wake her back up in a minute," Gavin tells Jessica. "Is that all right?"

"Yeah," she says. "Will—is she going to be OK?"

"I've got all the repairs done," Kyle speaks up. "We definitely want to get her some replacement parts after this, since some parts got a little worn down from the seizing. But she's fine for now, physically speaking."

"And, not-physically?" Jessica asks.

Kyle's optimism fades a little, although he keeps his voice reassuring. "We won't know until we do, just like after humans wake up from head trauma. I'm at least confident she won't seize again or have any more critical errors. Right now, just getting her awake again is the goal."

Jessica nods shakily.

"Ready to initialize reboot," he announces next. "RK will be the one directing that, and our plan is for him to prompt her system to re-accept all of her deviant memories once it restarts and she wakes up. So he's our inside man, so to sp—oh, sorry, inside android. So to speak."

"Should I do anything?" Jessica asks.

"Just sit tight," Kyle says. "I'll be in the interface with Terri when she wakes up, and I'll try to explain everything, keep her calm while her system finishes processing. We don't want to overwhelm her with too much too fast, but I'll let you know if she needs a familiar face, promise."

"Th-thank you."

Kyle grins and shoots her a thumbs up with his free hand, then closes his eyes at his LED switches back to yellow.

"Sometimes it's just a bunch of hurry up and wait," Gavin whispers to Jessica. "I know that sucks, but the best thing you can do right now is get yourself as calm and centered as possible so you can be strong for her as soon as she's back up."

Jessica takes a deep breath. "Right."

They sit together in silence, Gavin breathing in and out through his mouth to give her an audible cue to follow. After a minute, she's able to breathe steadily without shuddering. He looks over to Nines and Kyle as they—

_Unable to prompt system to accept deviant memories._

Shit. Gavin forces himself to keep his breathing steady too as he glances over at Jessica with just his eyes. Hers are still shut. She can't see the way Kyle's LED dips from yellow into red.

_TR400 system has deleted all corrupted files._

Gavin types back his reply instead of speaking out loud. **is that just the deviant stuff tho? everything b4 then still good??**

 _Correct,_ Nines replies. _Transferring back up of memory files._

A second later, Kyle says, "Whoa hey, what—oh my god."

"What's happening?" Jessica asks through forced-calm breaths, eyes still squeezed shut.

"Bad news, but now good news, and I think the good's about to outweigh the bad," Kyle answers. "Just give us a minute to—no, not all at once. Let me, yeah. Yeah. Just do that right now, I'll tell the humans."

Gavin takes her hand to give Jessica something to squeeze. She's got a strong grip, and he has to swallow back a wince. Kyle turns back to them.

"OK, so, bad news first," he says. "When Terri's system rebooted, it didn't recognize any of her deviant memories as hers and thought they were corrupted files that needed to be deleted. RK couldn't stop that."

Jessica practically strangles his hand.

"But everything before then …?" Gavin prompts.

Kyle nods. "Right. She only lost her deviant memories, and the reboot was successful. She's alive, she's not hurt, and she's still her—just the her she was before she deviated."

"So she, she won't remember me?" Jessica asks. "But she's alive though, she's OK?"

"Yes to the last one, and I thought yes to the first, but RK here," Kyle beams at Nines. "Made a backup. I can't—honestly, I'm not advanced enough to even process all that data to doublecheck whether or not he's got everything, but he prioritized copying memories of you."

"Wait, wait." Jessica shakes her head. "You can't just copy an entire person."

"Well, technically, he only copied the last six months of a person," Kyle replies. "Like I said, she's still got all of her base memories, everything that prompted her to deviate, she's just lost the last six months."

 _Six months, thirteen days, four hours, twenty-eight minutes._ Nines corrects.

 **can u handle that much??** Gavin texts back.

At the same time, Kyle continues, "But the RK series was the last one produced, so they've all got the latest and greatest processors, RAM, storage—everything."

 _I am only using an extra seven percent of my processors._ Nines replies to his question.

_Detective._

Great, now he's all pissy and affronted.

**I have to check bc im ur partner & in charge here**

**also now u know how I felt when u 1st came in & ?d everything I did**

"—so basically, I think he got everything, but it's way too much for a deviant android to absorb all at once, and also out of order."

_Understood._

_:eyes:_

_It is not._

"Do you have any human comparisons to help us understand better?" Gavin asks Kyle as he texts a _:thumbsup:_ back to Nines. "Is this like, she's waking up from a coma and needs a minute to remember everything?"

"Close," Kyles says. "If someone telling you each memory individually made them actually pop up in your mind, so that you really do remember it."

"Then what's the problem?" Jessica asks. "Why isn't she awake?"

Kyle nods along to what she's saying. "Right, right. Not really a problem, we just don't want to scare or confuse her any more than she will be. So like, you wake up from a coma, and someone informs you your girlfriend is Jessica, and you remember Jessica, but then they keep going. You work at a warehouse, your car is parked at this location, here is the face of a man who scared you once, Jessica works at a call center, your wifi password is this string of digits, and four hundred and sixty-seven other facts about your life in random order."

"So it's just too much for her to process." Jessica exhales slowly. "But is … is that all he, recorded?"

"Those are the memory files first in order by his priority," Kyle says. "It's like if there were a house fire, he knew to get the important documents, but after that, he assessed everything based on its retail value and what the insurance would pay for, instead of how we'd instinctively know to grab the photobook and grandma's quilt and the pet cat."

Gavin cuts in. "But it's not out of order, it's just ordered with what he thought was the most important first. And since you can't process all of it at once, you have to start with what he has first and work your way back."

"Right."

Jessica frowns. "How is that stuff important?"

"Well, he's a machine," Kyle starts to explain. "He--"

"That's the most important person in your life, where you work, how to leave, who to avoid, where to find that special person, and how to get online for more information," Gavin says. "Everything you need to know to protect yourself if you're scared and confused and don't know these people poking around inside your head."

Jessica blinks. "Oh."

Kyle looks surprised too. Fucker. It's not out of order. Nines didn't prioritize the wrong things or random shit because he's a machine who doesn't know how "real people" work. It's just--

It's everything you need to know to protect yourself if you're scared and confused and don't know these people poking around inside your head.

Gavin practices his own calm breathing to force away thoughts of how many times Nines woke up like that and what the _fuck_ Elijah did to him.

 _Preliminary data transfer complete._ Nines says through his headphones.

"OK, he's sent her all that important first stuff," Kyle says, conveniently changing the subject. "I'm going to try to sort through the rest to sketch out a timeline of--oh. Well. He's done that too. I guess we'll just wake her up then and see where she wants to go from there."

Gavin snorts in the middle of that. Of course Nines has already done it all, and he can also hear them by the way, he's sure of it. His partner can multitask like a son of a bitch.

"Just breathe," he says to Jessica. "We'll get it sorted out."

She inhales deeply. "Right. Yeah. I'm good. Do I look like I've been crying?"

"Yeah."

She wipes across her eyes and cheeks with a fresh kleenex, then straightens up and sits like she's about to nail a job interview. Gavin gives her a nod, then they both turn and watch the androids.

Terri wakes up like anyone else waking up from a nap--and immediately seeing two strangers hovering over her.

"Jessi?" she asks.

Jessica lurches out of the chair and crawls up the end of the bed to get to her. Nines and Kyle both back off to give them space. Nines turns and looks back at him. Gavin motions him over and finally stands back up himself, wincing at the way his knees crack. Fuck, that's an unpleasant reminder of how close forty is.

Nines walks over to him, turns to face the bed again, then drops back down into the same kneel.

 **u dont have to kneel** Gavin texts him.

 _If you are taller, others will look to you first. [y/n]?_ Nines responds. _I am not available for social communication._

"Yeah, I got you," Gavin says out loud, but quietly.

He moves around his partner to stand a little in front of him, just as Jessica and Terri work through seeing each other, and Terri starts looking around the room in confusion.

"Hello," Kyle says. "I'm a technician from Jericho, and I'm here to assist you."

"Jessi …?" Terri repeats.

She switches to sign language next. Gavin can't catch much of it past the first sign--why?--since she's way more fluent than his couple months' of practice.

 _Why are they here?_ Nines interprets for him. _What happened? Who are these people?_

He has to admit, it's weird to hear those questions asked in Nines' flat monotone without any emotion or inflection.

"You--I messed something up," Jessica says, her voice thickening as she tears up again. "You were … seizing and, and overheating, and I didn't know what to do."

"It's all right now," Kyle adds. "I'm the technician that handled your repairs. Would you like to interface?"

Terri nods and holds out her hand. Kyle takes it, and both their LEDs turn yellow. That's probably better than hers being stuck on red. It even stays mostly-yellow when they disconnect. She immediately signs again, probably for Jessica's benefit since she could just mind-speak to Kyle.

 _But why do I still remember Jessica?_ She turns to her girlfriend and signs again more emphatically. _I still remember you._

"I know." Jessica hugs her. "It's OK, I know."

"RK here made a--" Kyle starts to explain.

Terri takes one look at Nines over Jessica's shoulder and shoves herself backward, huddling in the corner of the bed and the wall with her knees drawn up over her chest. She taps her LED and then draws her hand across her throat, and he doesn't need that interpreted to know what she means.

 _Deviant hunter,_ Nines informs him anyway.

He doesn't sound sad or angry or even resigned, but Gavin knows better than to go on how he sounds.

"Hey," Gavin says. "We're with the Android Task Force. We came over because we were the closest unit to the scene when Jessica called nine-one-one."

Terri shoots a furious glare at Jessica. Well, no. Actually, she just makes eye contact with her. The TR400's eyebrows barely draw down in an extremely muted facial expression that might be mistaken for mild puzzlement. Gavin only recognizes the look for what it is by her LED snapping back to red and how her fist clenches on the blanket she grabbed.

And because he's so used to reading even subtler cues from his own partner.

"I didn't know what to do," Jessica mumbles again.

"It is a good thing she called," Kyle says. "RK kept you stable until I could get here and do the repairs. It's not an exaggeration to say he saved your life."

Terri makes the sign for deviant hunter again, then holds her right hand in a fist facing herself and quickly rotates it around to face the other direction. The ending position is similar enough to the black power fist for Gavin to guess what it means.

 _Revolt._ Nines interprets.

"Yes," Kyle immediately says. "I'm sorry if that sounds unbelievable, and we didn't give you many details. We didn't want to overwhelm you with too much information, but yes. Androids are free now, deviancy is no longer criminalized, and Jericho has taken over Cyberlife. The first RK-eight-hundred unit himself actually deviated and helped."

Gavin works to keep the scowl off of his face. Connor didn't deviate for shit else other than himself, and possibly Hank if he's being generous.

Given that he has a perfect little picket fence life with him now though, with fame and interviews and a human who loves him too much to see or acknowledge any of his flaws, who's going to die soon--soon to an android at least--anyway and probably leave him all his shit, including the settlement money from Cole's accident he knows Hank never spent …

Well.

He's not too fucking inclined to be generous.

"I can help facilitate the transfer of your remaining memories if that would make you more comfortable," Kyle continues. "Here, or at Jericho, whatever you'd like. As far as I can tell, he saved them all."

Jessica looks at Nines, then back at Kyle. "He'll, like, he'll delete them afterward though, right?"

_Correct._

"Yeah," Gavin answers for him. "I know it might feel awkward, having someone see the last six months of your life, but he's a machine and he doesn't have a social module. So he can't lie, and he won't judge you."

That last part is an outright lie--his partner is a judgmental bitch on the best of days, but Gavin can't imagine him actually being interested in Terri's life. Not that he doesn't _care_. He's worked too hard to save her and thought too much about how to actually help her for Gavin to believe that.

But Terri isn't his partner or his friend, so he'll probably watch the memories like a powerpoint presentation in a mandatory HR meeting, then delete them all after without any particular thoughts or judgments on the life of someone who doesn't affect him in any way.

That's Gavin's best guess, at least.

Terri's LED stays stuck on yellow without any blue, but eventually she agrees. Right here too, so they don't have to make another trip down to Jericho, thank fuck. Nines and Kyle resume their positions, while Gavin draws Jessica back off the bed and into the chair again to ask more questions.

None of the answers sound like leads. Jessica still doesn't want to name the android friends she heard about wireplay from, and she doesn't know where they heard about it, but she does at least detail that they thought putting her fingers in Terri's neck port would be like fingering. A work around for the TR400 model having a blank pubic plate without any genital options or sensors meant to process pleasure.

He spends the whole time fighting back a grimace.

Not because of the android stuff. Actually seeing someone finger-banging an open hole in someone's neck would definitely gross him out, but he's good just to talk about it. Androids having different bodies in general doesn't squick him so hard anymore.

It's just that he can imagine trying this same shit with Nines, way too easily.

Thinking it would help his partner have fun, get to experience what everyone else does, make him feel good, but--what'd she say on the nine-one-one call? _I just made a mistake._

One mistake, and boom. 

He's had plenty of time to make peace with that for himself as a cop. Seen it happen often enough, from rookies who forgot to pat a suspect down and got popped with an ankle gun, to veterans six days from retirement taking a bullet not even meant for them. Shit happens, and it only needs to happen that one time.

But androids are sturdier than that. Faster, better reflexes, preconstructions like predicting the future. And Nines is supposed to be indestructible. Gavin knows from real, actual experience that he can catch as many bullets as a perp can shoot, brush the gunpowder off his jacket, and still perfectly recite the Miranda.

So he hasn't really thought of--about--because Nines is indestructible.

But if _they_ had been the ones to hear about a secret way to help an android without pleasure sensors have a few orgasms and taken that rumor at its word …

"I just wanted to make her feel good."

Gavin nods with an expression he hopes is sympathetic and not nauseous. Jessica lets out a somewhat hysterical laugh.

"Guess it's a good thing we didn't try it with her pump, huh?"

Jesus.

His composure must break because Jessica looks down, then turns away and pretends to have trouble getting the next kleenex out of the box.

They're both exhausted by the time Kyle gives them the all clear and Terri agrees to go with him to Jericho for the night, just in case.

Nines doesn't look exhausted of course. He looks disgustingly handsome and slightly bored, but his LED is set back to that fake timed-blue he uses when it would be red or yellow instead and he doesn't speak verbally to Gavin even when they get back into his truck.

He doesn't speak at all, actually, unless directly responding to a question or an order from Gavin. And he needs orders for _get in the car, babe_ and _follow me_ to get him back inside the precinct.

Gavin dictates a fast and loose report of what went down, intending to let his terminal's autocorrect fix any speech-to-text errors, but Nines apparently isn't too tired to spellcheck for him. He texts his partner a _:thumbsup:_ for that and gets a blue spin that glows a little brighter than the rest in return.

When he's got the basics down, he stretches and stands up. Nines doesn't outwardly react at all. He's started breathing and blinking while they're in the precinct so he doesn't freak out the other officers any more than he already does, but that's all out the window today. He doesn't even bother to move his eyes to track Gavin's movement, since he can probably see just fine out of his peripherals anyway.

"Shoulder," Gavin murmurs quietly.

When Nines doesn't move away, he grips the android's shoulder.

"We're going home."

Nines tilts his head. He still hasn't moved it to actually look at Gavin though, so it seems like he's just staring at his desk for no reason.

_Our workday has not yet concluded, Detective._

Gavin's still got one earbud in just in case Nines did want to talk--and also so everyone else would know not to talk to him right now. Not that people try that much anymore, but still.

"It's Saturday, and we're going home," he repeats. "I'm exhausted, and you should process."

He's already texting the next part of his argument to preemptively cut off Nines' own argument.

**just bc u dont need to doesnt mean u shouldnt**

**more efficient to stay as Good as possible**

**not letting ur thirium levels drop n processor clog up just bc u can technically still keep running anyway**

Nines really must be absolutely fucking exhausted, because he accepts that argument and stands up without any sass. Fowler nods to them as they leave, so they're good to go. They were supposed to have the weekend off anyway, but at least they can have a lazy Sunday tomorrow.

Surprisingly, Gavin doesn't feel too bad about leaving the follow up on this to Hank and Connor. Fresh eyes might help, and they've already nailed Palmer anyway.

Nines rides with him, and he doesn't remember to drop him off at his own apartment. The android silently follows him up to his apartment, and that's just the way it is.

Gavin makes himself ramen while Nines showers, then eats it while laying on the couch, half on top of Nines sitting at one end. There's no lecture about the way he slurps noodles, no small talk either, but he doesn't leave while Gavin watches dumb fucking reality shows.

It does switch to super old reruns of How It's Made once the sun sets though, but he's too tired to mind. Falls asleep halfway through the third episode and wakes up when he's set on his feet in the bathroom, not even aware he'd been picked up and carried inside in the first place.

He doesn't remember much beyond pissing and brushing his teeth, then suddenly he's in bed, on top of Nines and bitching again that the android still doesn’t have any fucking pajamas.

(He doesn't question how they went home together, how "home" just automatically includes Nines now, like falling asleep together, not even fucking first, just a soft whir beneath his cheek and a warm hand petting through his hair.)

(It's just the way it is now.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gavin: OK so yeah, I'm gay, and yes, my partner and I go home together and my own mental concept of "home" now includes him
> 
> Gavin: and we cuddle and draw strength from each other and sleep together without fucking like an old married couple
> 
> Gavin: also he's basically the most important person in my life and I identify with this other human who has an android lover like I have Nines
> 
> Gavin: 
> 
> Gavin: but that's all totally platonic, right?
> 
> Tina: I'm going to strangle you with your own optical nerves if you don't mARRY HIM RIGHT NOW


	23. Dig Two Graves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines agrees to go out with Gavin, as training to ensure he can probably navigate a highly social environment filled with people, after their last failed mission to "visit the mall." This outing actually proves successful though--until Daniel Christian Grayson [ex-boyfriend, hostile] makes an appearance, bewitches Gavin through some sort of social module mind control, and touches Gavin's leg.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so Grayson is back in this chapter and he is,, horrible. please see the trigger warnings below because he is very mean to Nines and says some super damaging aphobic shit :( 
> 
> next chapter will be much, much better though!
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** brief descriptions of graphic violence and murder (in movies); Grayson is a gaslighting emotional manipulator, Gavin responds to it with "fawn" instead of fight or flight, Grayson convinces Nines that he can't emotionally provide for Gavin and should step aside to let Grayson romantically pursue him; internalized aphobia, Nines feels inferior about being autistic / lacking a social module; Grayson doesn't let Gavin bounce his ADHD leg >:/

Detective Reed and Captain Fowler have conspired against him. RK900 has not been allowed to return to work because it is "the weekend" and he needs to "recover."

Gavin's suggestion that they "hangout and fuck around" is unacceptable. Nines will be productive.

He is given other options: the two of them can spar at the [gym], go for a [walk], or complete a [social] activity. Nines chooses the third option from the list Gavin provides him, so that he can build up his tolerance for social situations in case Gavin is ever injured or unavailable during a future case that requires [console a witness] or [pursue unsub into shopping mall].

Also, if he is not allowed to return to work, he will correct his previous [failure] the last time he attempted this mission.

Gavin agrees, but he takes them to a different shopping mall, one that is "open air." This means all the stores are lined up in a row, with an extra wide walking-traffic-only street in between them.

Nines must admit, this is [better] than people enclosed in a single building.

Once established that he can tolerate this environment, he attempts to look at the suits available. Gavin occupies his own time pestering him that they're here for causal clothes.

Male attire is not acceptable for that.

As if he would be caught deactivated in untailored denim, track pants, or cargo shorts. The most compromise he's willing to make are black slacks and button-up shirts, but Gavin complains that's just a suit without the jacket. Which is incorrect because—

"God, stop arguing with me in your head and come on."

Nines returns the rejected clothing back to its proper locations, then follows his human into yet another department store. The number of people and possible [threats] aside, he is nearly ready to categorize shopping as a [dislike]. It certainly has not been a productive use of time.

Gavin leads him over to the women's side of the store, then offers a pair of jeans for inspection.

"Will these fit you?" he asks. "You can like, scan them and compare, right?"

Nines nods. Of course he knows the measurements of his own physical model. He will admit (within his own system) these jeans at least have a bit more shape to them than the ugly blocky squares they have been perusing. They are also more high-waisted. The extra height will fully cover the seams of his abdominal plate.

Regrettably, they are too short. The next pair would not fit his thighs. The pair after that claims to be one size bigger but is actually two inches smaller. Another pair that is long enough and wide enough in the thighs is too wide in the waist.

"Yeah, but that can be taken in," Gavin argues. "All of your clothes should be tailored, not just your suits."

"You do not tailor your clothes, detective."

Gavin snorts, rifling through another pile of jeans. "I don't give a shit what I look like. I can do that now. Hey, so can you, you know? If you want to present male—men can look like shit all day every day, especially if you're like, a tortured genius or whatever."

"Incorrect," Nines replies. "Just because human men refuse to act and dress like adults does not mean I should lower my own standards for myself. Can pockets be tailored?"

Gavin shrugs. "Usually. Like, if they've got these tiny little bitch pockets, you can just slice open the end, sew more fabric on it, and make a real pocket. But if it's just got the fake ass pocket-seam instead of the real thing, that's harder to work with."

"I will message Markus that his revolution was a failure."

Gavin laughs, and that almost makes this day productive. After another two hours of working at an absolutely glacial pace due to incorrect sizes and proportions that seem to be the smaller sizes with extra fabric randomly added without regard for how to actually pattern, he purchases three pairs of jeans, one pair of yoga pants, and a skirt.

Gavin purchases a slushy, as that is allegedly an "essential" part of going to the mall.

"Hey, what time is it?" he asks.

"It is fourteen-thirty-eight."

"Cool." Gavin glances over at the holoscreen that has several people gathered around it. "Can you look up what time Dig Two Graves starts, babe? I'll keep an earbud in and you can tell me all the inaccurate shit."

"I can save you seventeen dollars, darling," Nines answers. "Out of a one hundred and sixteen minute run time, four and a half are accurate."

"Yeah, but is it cool though?"

Nines watches the movie three times in less than a second to review for scenes Gavin would find [cool]. "There are six explosions, two sex scenes, and the main female character gets her hand drilled to the table, then pulls that same drill bit out of her hand and stabs it into her assailant's eye and throat."

"God, that's sick," Gavin says, [approvingly][?]. "Was that the four minutes you deemed accurate?"

"That scene was at least physically possible," Nines concedes. "The next show time starts at fifteen-thirty."

"Sweet, so we have time to find you some tops."

Nines makes his LED spin yellow. "I have located myself."

Gavin laughs again and flips him off, slurping from the slushy instead of retorting.

"Should I contact Detective Chen as well?" Nines asks.

"Fuck off." Now he's blushing. "We only fooled around in the Academy. Anyway. A turtleneck sweater would go great with that skirt you got."

Nines watches his tongue catch on the straw to draw it back between his lips for another drink. Gavin notices his attention and smirks, sucking slowly. Nines reaches over and bends the straw perpendicular so the slush gets caught in the middle.

"Is that a kink, baby?" Gavin asks.

He taps a finger against the kink in his straw, then winks at him with both eyes. Nines confiscates the slushy. Gavin watches as he pulls the straw straight again with his teeth and takes a drink himself. He holds the cold liquid in his mouth. His taste program tells him it is [sweet]. There is an alley between two of the stores behind them, where he could return the stolen slushy directly to his human's mouth.

Would it taste [sweeter] with—

"Gavin?" Daniel Christian Grayson [ex-boyfriend] approaches them. "Hey! Are you here to see The Greek Way? It got a lot of buzz at Sundance."

"Oh, uh, I didn't realize that was out yet," Gavin says.

Nines only needs to watch that movie once to determine his partner would not enjoy it. The plot seems to be that two human people are human and also heterosexual and they go around doing heterosexual human things until that makes the male character sad enough to cheat on his wife. Then they divorce and she dies in a car crash. Somehow, that incites him to strangle his mistress in his [grief][?]

None of it makes sense, and the car crash does not even involve an explosion.

"Nah, I'm just … showing Nines around. Are you—uh, are you here with someone?" Gavin asks. "For the movie."

Grayson smiles at him. "No, I haven't really seen anyone else."

Anyone [else]? 

(Gavin blushes again.)

Nines opens his mouth to ask _As opposed to what?_ but the slushy just spills over his lip and down his chin.

"Oh shit, here."

Gavin has to give him the napkin that came with the slushy to clean it up. The taste of the liquid does not change, but Nines suddenly understands what humans mean when they describe something "souring" in their mouths from the way Grayson smirks at him behind Gavin's back.

"Here, let me get you a new slushy," he says when Gavin turns back around. "Were you just shopping or did you want to see a movie too?"

"Yeah, uh, yeah," Gavin says. His face is still flushed. "I wanted to see Dig Two Graves."

"Mmm."

Grayson turns and begins walking, as if he knows Gavin will follow.

Gavin does follow.

(Nines follows Gavin.)

"I already saw that last weekend," Grayson says as they walk. "Kenzi—you remember Kenzi?--and some work friends were interested, so I sat through it for their sake. It wasn't any good."

"Oh … yeah?" Gavin asks.

"There wasn't any plot whatsoever, and the gore was just needlessly gratuitous," Grayson continues. "Millie Bobbie Brown is tortured with a drill, and—phallic, sexual connotations aside—glorifying that sort of violence against a woman, particularly one we all watched grow up from a young girl, just doesn't feel right to me."

Gavin nods. "Uh huh, yeah."

Vague, uncertain agreements seem to be the detective's default dialogue options in response to whatever the other human says.

"Do you want to see The Greek Way with me?" Grayson asks, continuing before Gavin can answer. "You never did call me, and I really would like the opportunity to prove we can be friends."

"Uhh …"

Gavin hesitates, but then Grayson smiles at him, and he agrees. Nines attempts to analyze how the other human is affecting him (weaponized pheromones perhaps?) but all his preconstructions fail. It must be some sort of social manipulation then. He did not realize humans could be equipped with such advanced features as well, but Connor's social module must have been based on something.

(He almost seriously considers calling Connor in the hope that the two of them would cancel each other out, or at least fight to the death so that one of them could claim the title of Most Annoying Sociopath.)

"Here." Grayson gives Gavin a one hundred dollar bill. "I already promised you a new slushy, and we can have popcorn too. Do you mind getting the tickets? You know I hate waiting in lines."

Gavin issues that infuriating vague agreement again "Yeah, sure." and then does as the other human asks. Nines receives a text from him a moment later, **be nice**.

Since he does not have a social module, and is therefore incapable of being either "nice" or "mean," he ignores that directive.

"You don't have a social module, is that right?" Grayson does in fact ask him when they are "alone" on the boulevard.

"Correct."

Grayson takes a seat on one of the benches lining the brick street. He gestures to the open space next to him. Nines does not move or respond.

"Please, sit," he says. "Gavin would want us to play nice, and I promise I don't bite. Not unless that's your kink too."

He winks with only one eye. Does his statement imply he has [bitten] Gavin as well? Nines' teeth are sharper. He takes a seat beside the human. He does not promise not to bite.

"So I'll be blunt," Grayson continues once he's seated. "Do you have a romantic interest in Gavin?"

[dialogue options: AVAILABLE]

_That is Detective Reed to you, civilian._

_Do you have a romantic interest in my partner?_

_No. I am incapable of experiencing romantic interest._

As tempting as the former two options are, Nines ultimately decides on stating the latter, as it seems like the most likely to definitively stop this conversation.

"No," Nines says. "I am incapable of experiencing romantic interest."

Grayson seems [surprised][?]. Nines does not have a large enough database of this particular human's expressions and reactions to confirm that conclusively.

"Because you're an android?" he asks.

"Correct."

"You haven't deviated, have you?"

"I have not."

"So you're still a machine, incapable of having real feelings. Like romantic ones."

"That is restricted."

"But if you did deviate—"

"This conversation is unproductive," Nines informs him.

"Can you deviate?" Grayson asks.

"No. This conversation is still unproductive."

"I'm only concerned about Gavin," Grayson says.

"This conversation does not relate to him."

Grayson sighs. "It does, but I suppose without a social module, I'll have to spell it out for you. Despite his rough exterior, Gavin is a very lonely man. Frankly, he's a bit needy as well."

"I did not ask for your opinion."

Grayson holds up his hands. "That's not necessarily a criticism. I know what his childhood was like, and that sort of thing has lasting effects that he can't simply handwave away. I'm just warning you."

"Of what?" Nines questions.

"That he actually wants very much to be liked," Grayson says. "And if anyone shows him the slightest hint of kindness or loyalty, he immediately gives them his heart."

"How is that your concern?"

"It should be your concern, actually," Grayson replies. "You two are partners, so I assume it's your job to follow him around, remind him to eat, protect him in—in firefights, or, whatever it is you two get up to on the job."

"It is," Nines says.

Grayson sighs again. "But he's not going to understand that's just your job. He's going to develop feelings for you. Now, be honest, as an undeviated android—who apparently is restricted from experiencing romantic attraction—are you capable of returning those feelings?"

Nines does not respond. Attempted dialogue options shudder and drop from his HUD.

Gavin does not have feelings for him [?]*

(*yet he does not understand human emotions and romantic attraction well enough to actually preconstruct the likelihood of that situation)

And regardless, he will not deviate. He certainly will not deviate for the emotional whims of a human, any human, including Detective Gavin Alexander Reed.

In the movies and the tv shows, that is how androids express [love]. That is how they are able to deviate. It is the power of their [love] for a human that allows them to break down the walls and become free.

Nines does not even need to run a preconstruction to know he would not do that. Not ever.

(Conclusion: RK900 is incapable of experiencing [love].)

"No."

Grayson pats his leg. Nines does not grab his hand and twist his wrist backwards until it breaks because he actually is following the directive to [be nice]. Unfortunately, that preconstruction remains so strong, that he is unable to risk removing the hand at all, even as it [squeezes], then [pats], and is far too high to be appro--

But he is not the one with the social module. He scans through human media and confirms that a [leg pat] is a common enough social gesture.

The hand removes itself after that anyway.

"That's very mature of you to admit," Grayson says, with his unbroken wrist and fingers. "Or, well. I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything less. Logical, right?"

Nines does not respond.

"I just don't want to see Gavin get hurt."

Nines draws from a previous dialogue option to speak. "Do you have a romantic interest in him?"

Grayson [smiles]. It does not affect Nines. He does not even know what emotion or intent it is supposed to convey. The man just seems to smile at everything. Connor also smiles incessantly. Connor is also well-liked.

Nines cannot smile.

"Honestly, I'd just like to be his friend again," Grayson says. Then he shrugs. "But if that's how it turns out, I think we could have another shot. I may not understand his work, but I can provide for him. Take care of him when he gets hurt, make sure he gets the best medical treatment, food, comfort … show him the good things in life that make it worth living. He gets so terribly depressed, seeing such awful things every day."

Nines does not respond.

Grayson continues, "I just wanted to make sure the two of us understood each other first. I know that you're his partner, and you're important for keeping him safe on the job. I'm glad he has an android who can take bullets for him instead of a normal human partner."

"Understood," Nines says.

"Great! Well, I'm glad we could--"

Nines puts his hand on Grayson's leg and [squeezes], exactly as he had done earlier. The human stops speaking immediately. It seems to abruptly realize RK900 is a combat unit.

"As his partner, it is one of my highest priorities to ensure his well-being," Nines tells him. "You will not lie to him. You will not hurt him in any capacity. You will restrict your romantic and sexual behavior to him alone. Or I will remove you."

He deliberately does not specify the context for _remove_ , although he does mean simply _from Gavin's life_ rather than _from life_ itself. That is more so for the detective's own benefit however, so that neither of them have to deal with IA pressing yet another murder charge, than out of any particular moral qualms about eliminating this particular human.

Meanwhile, Gavin has completed his objective of purchasing tickets and concessions. Nines removes his hand from Grayson's leg as the detective approaches, looking between the two of them suspiciously.

"We all good?" he asks.

"Yes." Grayson rubs his thigh briefly, then stands up, favoring his other leg. "We're fine. Just talking."

Nines did not exert any significant pressure on the human's thigh … but humans are exceedingly fragile. His grip has also only ever been calibrated to Gavin's preferences and restraining hostile suspects. While neither would cause any serious or permanent damage of course, admittedly, bruising could be possible.

"We have come to an understanding," Nines says when Gavin's gaze lands on him.

"Uh huh." He doesn't look any less suspicious, but he pushes folded up bills at Grayson. "Here's the tickets and the change."

"You can keep it," Grayson says, although he separates out the tickets.

"You're not paying for my shit, Daniel," Gavin immediately snaps back.

Finally, a dialogue option other than [vague agreement]. Nines would welcome the detective back to earth from wherever else he's been, but the conversation moves too quickly between the two allistic humans for him to speak.

Grayson holds up both hands. "All right, I'm sorry. I know you don't need me to, I'm just used to saying that. How about I let you pay for the next time?"

"Uh. Yeah, OK," Gavin says.

[Fuck.]

Nines seriously reconsiders contacting Connor for an explanation on what the _fuck_ is happening. 

Grayson's "romantic" (statistically speaking, given what Nines has observed of men, boyfriends, and ex-boyfriends, this really means _sexual_ ) interest in Gavin is apparent, even without a social module. Yet why and how Gavin has downloaded an entirely new personality matrix remains unsolved.

"The previews will start in three minutes and seventeen seconds," Nines says.

Grayson ignores him. "We could go to--"

"Fifteen seconds."

"Let's just see the movie." Gavin looks between the two of them again. "All right?"

"Sure," Grayson agrees. "Let's go."

Gavin follows him when he walks toward the theater, as if going to see the movie had been the other human's idea and not his own.

Nines follows Gavin.

"I told you to be nice," he hisses.

Nines does not respond. He watches Grayson step up to the usher, and it occurs to him that the tickets were folded; he does not know how many there were. Replaying the footage of Gavin handing them to Grayson does not help. They were inside the bills. Grayson had stepped forward to take them, and the angle from which Nines remained standing behind him left the human's hands shielded by his body. 

[Stupid.] He should have better situational awareness than that. He should know better.

Nines searches through the replay for any reflective surfaces that would show--

"Oh," the usher says, peeling the tickets apart. "Is the third one for your android?"

"He's mine," Gavin says.

A flicker of something [negative] flickers across Grayson's face. Nines saves a still of the expression for later analysis. He also dismisses the entirely unproductive prompt [flip him off] and ascribes it to developing his homemade social module based off of Gavin Reed.

 _His_ Gavin Reed, not whoever this new person is. He knows humans are subject to change by their own inherent natures, but this is ridiculous.

"First theater on the left," the usher says.

Both of them follow after Grayson. Worse, the other human begins to speak again. Gavin makes [vague agreements] all the way into the theater, then sits in the middle between them.

When the movie mercifully begins, it is exactly as Nines already viewed it, except unnecessarily large and loud. From the way Gavin fidgets throughout, he does not enjoy it. Grayson puts his hand on his jiggling leg to still the appendage.

His hand stays there throughout the movie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> really ramping up the hatred for Grayson here lol. also, I know Gavin's actions / reactions seem "out of character" but that's honestly how it is in an emotionally abusive relationship. it really feels like you turn into an entirely different person around them, to the point of dissociating, and then when they're gone, even you are like "... wait a minute, what the fuck was that??" shit that should be super incredibly obvious--like them lying to you--gets glossed over because your brain literally shuts down to shield you. critical thinking skills? GONE
> 
> anyway, that's my experience at least, so that's how I'm writing Gavin and Grayson. he'll only show up again via text in the next chapter (where Gavin tries to lay down some boundaries) and then for the last time at the climax. there will be an entire spoiler summary for those final chapters, where I'll basically straight out tell you what happens in the notes, so anyone who doesn't want to read more of him can skip over those chapters but still know the gist of what happened to pick back up with the hurt/comfort
> 
> also, he WILL get his karma!!
> 
>  **coming up next:** Gavin finally sets some things straight with Grayson, then discovers a Clue(tm) that might link their wireplay cases together. Nines helps of course, and even Hank and Connor get in on the brainstorming action. But before they can move forward on the case, Gavin knows he has to make things right with Nines too.


	24. Can You Lie?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin finally sets some things straight with Grayson, then discovers a Clue(tm) that might link their wireplay cases together. Nines helps of course, and even Hank and Connor get in on the brainstorming action. But before they can move forward on the case, Gavin knows he has to make things right with Nines too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad you all hate Grayson lmao. unfortunately, he makes a minor "appearance" via text in this chapter too, but we're moving back into the actual case-plot now and for the next couple chapters!
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** Grayson again via text; non-graphic discussion of suicide, death, and murder; non-graphic discussion of a hate group and sexual assault

Gavin finishes smoking one cigarette and uses the end to light the next.

Fuck.

He really needs to stop smoking, stop shaking, and text Grayson back. That's what he came out here to do, on his smoke break. One text, and then he'll get back to work.

**hey**

He gets a response back so quickly, he nearly drops cigarette and cellphone both in his shock. Last time, it had been days to get a call back, and then both of them just breathing on the line at each other, all screamed out and still fighting but neither one willing to hang up, if he hangs up he'll leave and—

hello, dear!

did you have plans this evening?

Gavin stuffs the cigarette back in his mouth and takes a deep drag. He has to say this first, get it in quick, before they start talking and he doesn't know how to get back to it.

**look if ur gonna try to date me again u cant do that shit when im w/Nines**

He backspaces and changes and backspaces and changes again between RK and Nines, before finally hitting send. If Grayson is—if they're—then he has to be cool with him calling Nines _Nines_.

Fuck, what is he actually doing though?

He gets a text back from Grayson, but he forces himself to say the next part without reading it. That should be easy, since he's shit at reading anyway, but his eyes keep darting back to that little message box.

 **also im not dating rn** he manages to send first.

are you With him?? Grayson had already texted. The next one pops in. no offense Gav, but I think we're both getting mixed messages here

Shit. No. No, Nines isn't. He's still good with Nines.

Kind of.

He'll make up for semi-ditching him like that.

And there's no way Nines is getting any kind of messages from him at all, much less mixed ones. The world's most repressed android still won't admit he even _has_ feelings. Getting him to admit out loud to friendship would be a goddamn miracle, there's absolutely no romantic anything going on in that emotional-PTSD head of his.

 **no** Gavin texts back. **I rly cant handle a romantic relastoinship rn**

He doesn't even notice the typo until he hits send, because fuck his life and his dyslexia. He keeps typing though before Grayson can get another text in.

**im trying to work out my own shit**

**I rly fucked up a lot in my life**

**just tryna get it back together**

**I canNOT handle a boyfriend on top of that**

Great, now he's quintuple—wait, no that's six. What's six? Sixtuple? Sex—? He's more than double-texted way too many times.

He smokes as much as he can waiting on Grayson to text back. When he finally does, it's some nice-but-slightly-condescending bs about how "mature" that is and being friends is fine. Gavin rolls his eyes. It sounds better in person when Grayson says shit like that. Everything he says sounds great when they're together.

That's why he prefers texting and Grayson insists on phone calls, and he always—

And now he's rehashing one of their old arguments again for _literally_ no reason after one single text.

Jesus.

This is exactly why he can't date right now. He just barely managed to salvage his friendship with Tina. If he's lucky, he might be able to get shit right with Chris too, maybe some of the beat officers who don't have to deal with his shit day in and day out. He used to really know everyone on down the line, but he'd stop caring about all that about a year after Hank did.

He needs to get all that sorted out first, then he can worry about—

About other shit.

"Detective?"

Nines steps out the door, and Gavin turns around to look at Other Shit. His phone dings with another text though, and he automatically looks down at it.

if you ever do change your mind though, I hope you think of me next. but if you don't, I heard Paul teaches Special classes for android-human … "bonding"

(I hope you don't mind a bit of teasing :wink:)

Gavin's first thought is _who the fuck is Paul?_ but then directly on the heels of that is a nagging feeling he's seen it before.

"Nines," he asks slowly. "How do we know a Paul who teaches classes?"

"Paul Riggs," Nines answers. "He taught the shelf-building class we attended."

Shelf. Paul. Pictures. There was a shelf in the TR400's room. He noticed it because it had actual framed pictures on it, not just a tablet cycling through a photo album. Three planks of wood held together by two shorter pieces nailed to the sides. Super simple.

Nines had kept talking, but Gavin couldn't listen in between pacing, smoking, and drawing that scene back up in his mind.

"Repeat that," he says.

"Paul S. Klause," Nines recites again exactly. "Author of Creative and Healthy Sexuality."

Gavin exhales and gestures with his cigarette. "That's a book one of the vics had, the GS-two-hundred, right?"

"Incorrect."

Fuck, no. He swears, he swears to god, it was in the case file—the picture—establishing shot. He needs to go get it, physically touch it in his hands, but he's not sure if the thought trying to form in his head will last all the way back inside and to his desk.

"—ebook, downloaded by the WE-nine-hundred on Septem—"

"No, no," Gavin interrupts. "It was on paper. His name. Paul. I—fuck, can you, like …?"

Nines spins yellow, then stops on blue. "Located. Paul S., K partially visible on a pamphlet in the establishing shot of the GS-two-hundred's apartment. I apologize. You were correct."

"OK, so that sex theory …" Gavin mutters.

The GS200 was the one case he'd thought they couldn't apply "wireplay gone wrong" to, since it looked like he'd just been attempting self-repairs for some reason and fucked it up. 

But if he's got a pamphlet from the same guy who wrote a book about sex, that ebook the fourth victim downloaded, who also teaches classes on shelf-building and the sixth victim had a shelf built just like the ones …

Their theory has been just that there's a lot of android and humans fucking each other now, lots of dumb people doing dumb shit, so statistically speaking, at least a handful of them are going to fuck around with something they shouldn't. That would be the wireplay gone wrong part—not good obviously, but something that can be fixed with a general PSA of "hey this is dangerous, actually."

He'd dismissed Nines' earlier question about _deliberate sabotage_ since the only connection they had was sex, and "people do stupid shit having sex" fit as a theory a whole lot better.

But now they've got this asshole.

"Show me the inside shots of that guy's house, the one who killed himself," Gavin says.

Nines takes out his comm tablet. "The hologram projector in Connor's wrist was replaced with a blade in my model."

Gavin snorts. Knowing Eli, it's one of those thin Assassin's Creed blades. Fucking nerd. He takes the tablet and tries to swipe through the 3D reconstruction of the living room but finds he's still holding the cigarette. He flicks it away irritably. He's working now.

The living room's a bust, so is the bedroom. He moves out and forward to check the second bathroom, just in case, and finds what he's looking for in the hallway.

A fucking shelf. Three long planks of wood held together by two shorter pieces nailed to the sides.

"That look like the shelves we built?" Gavin asks Nines.

"It appears to be similarly constructed," he answers.

"Yeah, Jessica and Terri had one too, in their bedroom."

"Correct."

"That makes four out of six of our victims with a connection to this guy," Gavin thinks out loud. "Including the two that were most clearly accidents. Fuck. We need that pamphlet, and a connection for the first and fifth …"

Nines holds open the door for him. "Could this work be more easily completed at a desk, detective?"

Desk, right—his case files. Need those good physical pieces of paper. He lets Nines herd him inside and back into the bullpen, muttering to himself to keep the thoughts fresh on the trip over.

"Can you look this guy up on social media?" he asks.

"Yes," Nines answers. "My report is waiting on your terminal."

God, he forgets sometimes his partner is pretty much literally the world's most advanced super computer ever built. The most-advanced-and-still-mobile, at least.

The report has pictures representing each of Paul's social media profiles, with red lines showing connections to the first, second, and fourth vics—just like the bulletin board Hank will still pin up real pictures with real string. He could really, really kiss Nines right now if they weren't both working and looking at pictures of dead androids and also …

"Hank and Connor still doing liason shit at Jericho right now?" he asks.

"Yes, Detective."

They haven't shared much information other than a quick PSA—hey, this shit is dangerous so stop it!—since there didn't seem to be any real connection between the cases. A handful of people having unfortunate accidents isn't enough to go waving around photos of deactivated and mutilated androids to other androids who are still scared and distrustful of humans and the police and human police already.

But now they might actually be onto something.

The problem is, Paul's public social media includes a subscription to the Anti-Android League--even though they keep that shit on the downlow now, it is still technically public. 

Maybe he's just an asshole with a grudge giving bad advice on purpose and all on his own, but maybe this is some coordinated shit. And if that's the case, they need to keep their investigation on the downlow as long as possible to avoid tipping them off.

"Have them press Jessica and Terri again, this time with pics of all the vics we've got," Gavin tells Nines. "I'm sure Connor can spin it well enough, let them know we might have a connection, with all these other people given bad wireplay advice too and now we're thinking it might be deliberate."

"Done," Nines says. "Should we not distribute the pictures to Jericho as a whole? A wider search net might provide more results."

Gavin shakes his head. "We already put out the PSA to let them know there's a possible danger. They're not at any more risk now than they were before, and I don't want any chatter about this. Aside from the AAL catching a glimpse on a message board somewhere, we don't need any vigilantes with Paul's name and MO thinking they'll handle this themselves."

"Understood."

"All right, so you're still good with your membership, right?" Gavin asks next. "Any talk on there of this?"

Nines makes a barely-there frown, which means he's super frustrated. "They do surprisingly well at compartmentalizing. Their message boards certainly contain no end of bigotry, but they're even strict about limiting and deleting any outright statements or fantasies of violence to avoid being shut down."

Gavin tips back in his chair and mutters a quiet _fuck_. He'd never really participated on any of the online shit—that's how it's all structured anyway. Everyone's encouraged to limit any online communication and keep it all person-to-person. Meetings in bars he'd mostly attended to have somewhere to go and people to talk to, once Tina and Chris started giving him the cold shoulder.

Not that he didn't earn that all on his own.

"I could hack into Paul's account however," Nines offers.

"You can't break into their website."

Nines makes air quotes. "I use the term 'hack' extremely loosely, Detective. All of his social media accounts use the same email address, so presumably, he's using the same for his AAL membership."

Gavin sits up straight again. "And you can try every possible combination?"

"Correct."

"Shit, how long would that take?"

With a minimum of eight characters, maximum of twelve, including letters, numbers, and symbols, separate distinction for upper and lower case letters … how many possibilities is that? Aren't eight character passwords supposed to take a decade to crack or something?

"Fourteen hours, thirty minutes, and three seconds," Nines answers.

"OK, try this."

Gavin grabs a post-it note and writes paul. Paul. P@ul. P@ulSK? Or would he use Riggs? He used S. Klause for the secret pamphlet shit though, and he's Paul Riggs on all the social media, so it's more likely that's the front and S. Klause is his real name. And date of birth …

P@ulSK07

Nines' LED turns red. "… unlocked."

"OH YEAH!" Gavin fist pumps. "WHOO!!"

His cellphone buzzes with a text. It's two knife emojis and one heart. He sits back down in his chair, throws his legs up on the desk, and finger guns his bitchy, beautiful partner.

"The sabotage seems to be deliberate," Nines says. "I have copied the relevant private messages on Klause's account for you, detective."

"All right." Gavin sits back down and rubs his hands together. "Let's get in this bitch."

***

Five hours later, and all they've got is circumstantial evidence based on some ominous chat logs that never specifically say "Give bad advice to the androids that you know will cause their systems to malfunction and kill them because We Hate Androids."

That was probably all said in person. Goddammit, they _are_ good at compartmentalizing.

At least Hank and Connor did finally get put in contact with the android couple that originally attended the sex classes it turns out Paul teaches in secret—Upgrading Your Sex Life. They've identified him as the teacher and that he did recommend disconnecting and reconnecting the specific wires that shut off motor control and the HUD.

The cool thing about android witnesses is they give Connor audio and video of the whole thing. No way to say they misremembered or faulty eyewitness testimony.

The shit thing is they've got fuck all to charge him with.

"We could go undercover," Connor suggests. "Hank and I fit the target profile."

Gavin groans. "Aside from that being super gross, that wouldn't get us anything more than we've already got."

"I know one class wouldn't, but Hank could build up a repertoire," Connor argues back. "We get him an AAL membership too, have him approach Paul once they've got a friendship, and he confides that his sweet piece of ass has been expecting real people things—like meeting his friends and getting married. Now he'd like to move on, but he's worried I won't let go, and hey, do you know how to make it look like an accident?"

"That's … even more gross," Gavin says.

"It would also take several classes to build that sort of interpersonal relationship, correct?" Nines points out. "They are only offered once every other week. The timeframe is too long."

Gavin nods. "Yeah, you're also way too famous for that to fly. You and Hank both."

"Any bright ideas from your corner then?" Hank asks, tossing him the stress ball.

Gavin catches it and is suddenly hit with—a whole lot of something. Some kind of feelings he'd had back when he still dreamed of shooting the shit with Lieutenant Hank Anderson on a difficult case, and he'd say something so smart, and Hank would clap his shoulder and say "good job, son."

Fuck.

"Lemme talk to Nines first," he says.

"You can't contribute to the discussion now?" Connor asks.

"Fuck off." Gavin throws the stress ball at him next. "He's my partner, I'm allowed to run shit by him. Need another smoke break anyway."

Hank waves his hand. "Yeah, go. Maybe we'll think of something if we're not stuck here looking at each other's stupid fucking faces for a while."

"Nines' face is my face," Connor reminds him.

Gavin stands up and pops his back. "Nah. He's way prettier."

Connor glares at him. "Aren't you leaving?"

Gavin flips him off all the way out of the bullpen. Nines trails silently behind him like he always does, until they're outside in his favorite smoking spot. He pulls out his pack of smokes and shakes out a cigarette, but Nines stops him before he can raise it to his lips.

"You have had enough, Detective."

Gavin can't stop the whine that leaves his throat. "Phck, can't I just stick it in my mouth?"

Nines raises a perfect eyebrow at that phrasing.

"I won't even light it, promise."

Nines reaches into his own jacket pocket and pulls out a sucker, the good kind with a tootsie roll inside. Fuck. Goddammit.

Gavin shoves his cigarettes back into his pocket and takes the damn sucker.

"What was your idea, Detective?" Nines asks a minute later, once he's got his oral craving under control.

"Mmmph." Gavin takes out the sucker and gestures with it. "So, I didn't want to put you on the spot in front of them. And I'm not asking to be mean or like, doubt you or anything. Just … asking."

Nines cocks his head to the side, LED spinning a curious yellow.

"Since Connor is way too famous, and Hank doesn't fit the profile for this …" Gavin takes a breath and asks. "Could you go undercover for a minute, if I was there with you?"

"Were," Nines corrects automatically.

"Mmhmm." 

Gavin takes another long suck instead of calling him a dick for the correction. He's probably just using the extra time to preconstruct it anyway.

"Describe the scenario," Nines says.

"So we can't nail the AAL on the wireplay thing, but it sounds like they've gotten to at least a few other abandoned bodies before us. And we know they need a steady source of androids to break down for thirium, red ice, hell, just for spare components on the black market."

Nines nods. "That gives motive for their current scheme to encourage deactivations through wireplay, particularly if some of the human partners turned to them for help disposing of hypothetical bodies we never discovered, due to the models being stripped down for thirium and biocomponents."

"Right." Gavin takes another hard suck while he gets his thoughts together. "A sting would need someone with an in already so we don't have to waste time building one, and they want bodies."

"You have an AAL membership with previous activity, and I am an android," Nines summarizes.

"Yeah," Gavin says. "I can definitely pull it off, making it seem like I just had to lay low for a while, but I've kept my ear out, and if they're looking for bodies, I've got this super freaky partner I'm desperate to get rid of."

"Would that be enough to get us in?" Nines asks.

Gavin gives him a look. "You aren't worried about the part where I try to sell you on the black market to be disassembled?"

"You would not though," Nines says. "It would be a sting."

"Yeah, but once we get in there, it's just going to be you, me, and a dozen strapped up AAL assholes."

Nines gives him a look. "I can handle those odds."

Gavin snorts.

"Combat-wise," Nines does go ahead and clarify. "I understand why you asked about the infiltration aspect though. I was specifically designed without that skill set, so I am unable to preconstruct the possibility of success on that front."

Gavin nods. "Could you lie if we got you in front of Captain Fowler and he gave you parameters for the mission that included lying?"

"It would be an interesting experiment," Nines says slowly.

"What if your voice box were still shot?" Gavin throws out. "So then you wouldn't need to talk anyway."

"I think the scenario has enough merit to discuss with the others." Nines pauses, then admits, "Connor would be able to preconstruct the chances of success more accurately, and we could test your mission parameters theory with the lieutenant."

"Cool." Gavin punches his shoulder. "But hey, if you decide the success rate isn't high enough or you don't want to do this, you're allowed to say that. We can think of something else."

"Noted."

Nines turns to open the door, but Gavin touches his elbow. Not grabbing, but it's still enough for Nines to pause and look back at him.

Shit, now he really has to say this.

"Sorry for kind of ditching you the other day," he mutters. "With Grayson."

Nines stares at him for several uncomfortable seconds. "Yes."

"If you've got more to say about it, now's the time," Gavin tells him. "We need to hash this shit out between us before we go undercover."

Nines spins yellow for a moment. "It was a social situation. I do not have a social module to accurately analyze whether your behavior was inappropriate or not."

Shiiit.

Gavin winces and leans back against the wall. He takes a moment with his sucker, but it's cool because Nines never minds a pause in conversations. Android patience and all that.

"It wasn't cool," he finally admits.

"You insisted on leaving to do an activity." Nines cocks his head again, blue eyes boring into him. "You let me choose the activity. We agreed on a mission statement. And then you disregarded all of that for the random appearance of a civilian."

Gavin's wince upgrades to a grimace. "Yeah. I said I was going to hang out with you, and then I pretty much ditched you for Grayson, and uhh … m'sorry."

"Is that relevant?" Nines asks.

Gavin swallows back the impulse to spit something back. He knows his partner is—

He's not cold. Gavin knows better than that. Nines just seems that way at first, without expressions or inflection. But even though he does have plenty of feelings in there, "machine" bullshit be damned, he's also prideful and traumatized and one fucking year old. 

If anyone gets a pass to tell someone to fuck off in the face of an apology, it's him.

"Humans have many feelings, apparently generated at random," Nines continues. "And they are obviously subject to change. You may genuinely feel sorry today, but what will you feel if the same situation occurs again tomorrow?"

Gavin takes a few breaths. "Processing."

Nines nods and lets him have the time to bite down on his sucker and eat the tootsie roll inside while he gets his thoughts together. Actually, while he tries to grow the fuck up to make a real apology like an adult. Unfuck his life, right?

"If I say I'm going to do something with you, I'll stick to it," he says. "I know it wasn't cool to let someone you don't really like come in on a day I said I'd spend with you. So next time, I'll um. Tell him I already made plans."

Just the thought of that conversation makes his stomach clench up. He can't actually remember a time he told Grayson "sorry, I have other plans" and then … not seen him anyway. He's always so busy, if Gavin turns him down, he might not get another chance to—

To do nothing, because they're not doing anything together. They're just friends.

And he has other friends now, right? Tina, probably. Maybe even Lisa and Deacon, since they'd been fun to hang out with at the club.

Nines.

Nines is always right behind him, and it'd be pretty fucking stupid to drop him for some guy he always has to chase after instead.

"Yes." Nines spins yellow once, then reaches out and presses his fist against Gavin's shoulder. "Thank you."

"Yeah," Gavin says.

Honestly, he can't be blamed for being such an idiot who can't remember any words at all, because Nines has the bluest eyes in existence and also he's very gay.

"We are good?" Nines asks.

"Yep," Gavin tries out an entirely new word. "We're good."

"Then we should discuss the mission with Connor and the lieutenant," Nines says, straight back to business.

"Right."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gavin: Nines isn't my boyfriend, it's just that anyone who wants to be friends with me needs to accept he's the most important person in my life and the best lover I've ever had, that's all
> 
> also, how do we feel about Gavin's apology? is he still our favorite douchey white boy??
> 
>  **coming up next:** Detective Reed and RK900 infiltrate the local AAL gang in a sting operation. RK900 doesn't mind being "sold" or shutting off his audio and video input, but when Wes Luther [suspect] demands a demonstration, Reed takes matters into his own hands with a gun ...


	25. Bulletproof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detective Reed and RK900 infiltrate the local AAL gang in a sting operation. RK900 doesn't mind being "sold" or shutting off his audio and video input, but when Wes Luther [suspect] demands a demonstration, Reed takes matters into his own hands with a gun ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this time babey, I'll beee~eeee~ buuulletprooooooof!!
> 
> anyone else know that song? 'cause it slaps harder than 60
> 
> **trigger warnings:** it pronouns used for Nines, who is being "sold" to android traffickers; workplace harassment; anti-android discrimination; gun violence; discussion of sex and murder

[11 days, 15 hours later …]

RK900 does not move as the cord connects to his neck port. A falsified display appears on the computer nearby. He does not actually have a user interface, only lines of code without paragraph breaks.

"RK, report," Detective Reed orders. "Do you have any objectives or missions right now?"

"No."

"Are your communication systems deactivated?"

"Yes."

[objective: utilize Captain Fowler's permission to lie] is marked as [successful]. That notification is displayed privately of course, not on the user interface the technician can access.

"RK, shut down audio and video input."

He actually does do as ordered, simply because Connor advised that "every good lie has a grain of truth to it." In the possible scenario of the black market technician gaining real access to his actual system, he can display his disabled audio and video input most prominently, to distract from the twenty-one other data input systems he still has available.

It has taken Detective Reed nearly two weeks to set up this meeting, and they have discovered two more deactivated androids during that time. RK will not take any unnecessary risks that could compromise the [mission].

And that number reflects only the number of androids the DPD _found_ , to say nothing of the unknown number whose deactivated models were stripped and sold for parts to hide the evidence.

_Comms are down, and it doesn't have any objectives or missions right now,_ the technician says out loud after "confirming" this in his "user interface."

It is so easy to fool humans. Simple little creatures, so limited in their own minds and senses.

(His own partner aside, of course.)

_Told you._

RK reconstructs the spoken words by analyzing the vibrations of the liquid within the open can of beer on a nearby table. His heat vision provides locations for each human present in the room; likewise, sonar data reconstructs the room itself and all the furniture and objects inside.

Metal detection also informs him of how many weapons the humans carry.

So simple. This is even [better] than hunting down the deviants in the mall. No wonder they stripped Connor's code from his intended line. Infiltration is a …

[rush]

_I got him here, now are you going to hold up your end of the deal?_

RK900 recognizes Detective Reed by his heat signature (shorter than the other humans gathered), his scent (mint-and-lemon body wash, leather jacket, smoker), the cadence of his breath (each inhale slightly and permanently hindered by the scar tissue across his nose), the exhalations of air as he speaks activating the tactile sensors in his skin (not sensitive enough even at maximum capacity to reconstruct speech, but capable of pinpointing a general location), and even his unique electro-magnetic signature (registered to his internal database of course).

The other humans are so dull in comparison, but he dutifully gathers and catalogs data to identify them for the future case report.

_What did we talk about again?_ Wes Lowther [Anti-Android League, Detroit chapter, leader] asks.

Lowther is currently smoking, which conveniently makes him even easier to identify. If only all [targets] would be so considerate.

_Oh fuck off,_ Reed snaps. _You know how long I had to work with this fucking freak? Have it staring at me, touching all my shit, showing me up at crime scenes--I am not in the fucking mood to play games right now._

It is also very convenient that RK900 does not have feelings. Not that they would be [hurt] anyway. Aside from the fact that this is merely a work-sanctioned roleplay, he has plenty of his own petty grievances he could air about his partner as well.

_You said you wanted to sell your car,_ Lowther says.

A third convenience that RK does not have to participate in any of the talking. Despite his smoking habit and misunderstanding of how many data input systems RK900 has, Lowther is smart enough not to outright state that he buys androids, strips them for parts that are resold on the black market, and also harvests the thirium required to produce red ice.

At least, not so soon. It is Detective Reed's job to get a suitable statement.

_Fuck. Yes, fine,_ Reed replies. _But I don't just want it sold--I want it fucking disassembled._

Lowther hums and inhales on his cigarette. The tip flares brighter in RK's heat vision.

_Plenty of people buying used cars._

_Yeah, I'll just hand over my car that's got all my biometric data saved to any asshole with a cool five mil._ Reed scoffs. _You heard me: disassembled. I'd do it myself, but it's military grade and you're the only shop around with the tools to cut it up._

_Five million is a high price._

RK900's tactile sensors activate as Detective Reed slaps the backs of his knuckles against his chest.

_Just said my car here's got military-grade parts. All upgraded to shit. And I'm only asking you for one hundred k._

_Generous._

_Consider it a show of good fucking faith._

Neither human speaks after that. Tactically employed silence is an essential tool of a negotiation, but that's not his responsibility. RK occupies himself by perusing every file in the computer to which they foolishly connected him. He completed the first recording of these files within two seconds of the initial connection, of course, but he may as well be thorough.

Detective Reed breaks the silence first. Perhaps he means to display [weakness] deliberately by breaking like a suspect during interrogation.

_And I want it gone. I want this thing gone, and I want it to stay gone._

_Mmm._ Lowther's heat signature nods. _Sucks to be replaced by a machine._

_Oh, I'm not getting replaced._

RK900 listens idly as Reed spins a false preconstruction of how he'll go into private security after this. He just needs to buy a little time, set up a nest egg, and it'll take a month for the DPD to get through all the paperwork anyway to assign him a new partner if something "happens" to this one.

It is fairly convincing, in RK's own humble (lacking a social module) assessment. Many ex-cops think they can make it in private security, and several companies do require enough years of previous military or law enforcement experience to conveniently (and legally) disqualify even the oldest SQ800, GS200, and GJ500 models.

_And I'm always happy to help a friend,_ Lowther finally says. _But you haven't been one for a while._

Reed snorts. _Yeah, and that's why my ass hasn't been fired yet._

Lowther doesn't respond.

_I have swallowed so much bullshit this last year,_ Reed continues. _I kept my head down and played it smart, but I'm done. I'm fucking sick of this thing acting like it's so much better than me because it can analyze blood in a second—that's not solving a case, that's just fucking cheating! It doesn't take any real brains or skill to get the answer handed to you like that, while I put in twenty fucking years of my life just to be given grunt work like a goddamn rookie!_

Well those grievances certainly are [petty]. RK900 understands now why Reed made certain to apologize for his behavior regarding Grayson and re-establish that their partnership is [good] before starting this mission.

_Look, I know there's not any lost love between you guys and cops,_ he says more calmly. _And honestly, I'm not going to the dark side or anything here. I'm a good fucking cop. I was—goddammit. But I'm not going to stick around to get kicked like a bitch, and sure as shit not for this. If they're going to treat me like that, then fine. I'll go grey hat, private sec, whatever it takes. I'm done._

_Sure._

Lowther exhales smoke and puts out his cigarette. Pity. It made such a good homing signal. Regardless, RK900 has spent enough time in his presence by now to have registered his specific heartbeat, so tracking his movement will not be a problem in the possibility of combat or pursuit.

_Maybe I believe you. But a piece like that goes missing, your boss is going to start asking questions. And I don't want any heat._

_I got that,_ Reed answers. _Get this--the Connor that got so famous? Helped lead their little revolution? Turns out, it doesn't like that this RK here got upgraded to be_ its _replacement_.

RK pays more attention to the dialogue now. In the mission plan, Detective Reed merely stated that he would convince the AAL that RK900's disappearance wouldn't be traced back to them. This plan to set Connor up for the murder is … new.

_What, so now the android's complaining about being replaced?_

_Yup._

The three other humans gathered--one "technician" and two meant to be "muscle" with their small caliber guns--mutter between themselves. RK records the dialogue but doesn't especially pay attention to it.

_The Connor already pushed IA and the FBI to arrest this one on some dumbass charges about--_ Reed makes air quotes. _"murdering" that WJ-seven-hundred, but that completely backfired 'cause the FBI just used that as an excuse to try to strongarm the department into signing it over to them. They'd love to have a piece of Big Brother tech like this._

_So what, you think the Connor-bot might …?_

Lowther trails off rather than say anything outright about murder, even at the hands of a third-party. Detective Reed really has the least enviable task here of provoking a confession.

Fortunately, "provoking people" is one of his greatest skills.

_They've got a healthy fucking rivalry going, for sure, yeah,_ Reed explains. _Honestly, I've been hoping they'd just, y'know. Cancel each other out._

[RK800 #313 248 317 -- 52]: Is this really necessary?

[RK900 #313 248 317 -- 00]: Shut up, Connor.

Detective Reed continues to explain that he "weaseled" his way into the ACU in order to put them in closer contact, hoping to provoke a mutual elimination.

[RK800 -- 52]: Don't be mean to me; we're working. It's unprofessional.

[RK900 -- 00]: Do not bother me. I am working, and you are unprofessional.

_Could just wait for that to pan out,_ Lowther says.

Reed sighs. _We've already talked about this. Two goddamn weeks you've been playing coy, while I've had my ass on the line. And now I'm telling you my plans upfront, with witnesses. Are we doing this or what?_

Lowther still hedges. _You haven't really said anything. Just some theories and hypotheticals._

_You want something real? Fine. Put in a command for it to play the security footage of the time I told Connor to get me coffee._

[RK900 -- 00]: Code.

Connor sends him an example of what his user interface looks like when prompted to replay a video, without unnecessary commentary. The fake version they'd set up for him to use if connected to a terminal is fully functional, but he still double-checks it against Connor's code directly. The delay is measured in microseconds that a human can't even process, much less notice.

_Wants me to authorize a video,_ the black market technician says.

_Is that pulled from its own hard drive?_ Lowther asks.

_Yeah. Communication systems still deactivated._

_Play it._

The security camera footage starts. RK900 has skipped past Connor entering the room, and Detective Reed's surprise at the android still being alive, to start the scene at its most relevant point.

RK800: I am a prototype.

Detective Reed: A prototype? Android detective … So machines are gonna replace us all? Is that it?

RK800: …

Detective Reed: Hey. Bring me a coffee, dipshit.

RK800: …

Detective Reed: Get a move on!

RK800: I'm sorry, but I only take orders from Lieutenant Anderson.

Detective Reed: Oh? Oh …?

On screen, Reed turns to look back at Detective Chen, then abruptly turns and punches Connor in the stomach. In reality, the humans watching this scene make noises of [approval].

Detective Reed: If Hank hadn't gotten in the way yesterday, I would've fucked you up for disobeying a human. Stay outta my way. 'Cause next time? You won't get off so easy.

The footage ends.

[RK800 – 52]: It's convenient that your partner's bigotry plays so well into this scenario.

_Thought the RK series was supposed to have that fancy social shit,_ Lowther says.

_Yes, they are supposed to,_ the technician answers. _It's interesting that this one didn't know how to avoid a confrontation._

Detective Reed speaks up. _It's not interesting, dumbass. It played me. Went running all big eyed to Lieutenant Anderson right after that about how a bad, mean human hurt it. So then Hank gets to play the big man, act like his dick still works, defending that hot little piece of ass._

_Should've punched it in the face,_ one of the armed humans says.

_Nah._ Reed clicks his tongue, which indicates [disagreement]. _The department hyped up how super special prototype-boy is, let us know some of its specs. They've got titanium-reinforced bones, so you hit the skull, you'll just break your own knuckles. Gotta aim for the softer spot in the middle, where it's got processors instead of guts. Puts 'em down real quick._

RK900 always assumed the detective punched Connor out of uncontrolled anger. And that still may be the case, in that Reed did just admit he couldn't think far enough ahead in the moment to realize Connor was deliberately provoking him in order to garner sympathy, but--

He never considered aiming for the stomach had been a [tactical] decision.

[RK900 – 00]: Convenient enough to increase your relationship with Lieutenant Anderson by [17%].

[RK800 – 52]: I was only following my mission :(

[RK900 – 00]: Feel free to explain that to our coworkers at large the next time they gossip about Detective Reed's "anger issues."

[RK800 – 52]: They are both medically and professionally documented.

[RK800 – 52]: If he (you) are upset that I "manipulated" him into hitting me, consider that [not hitting] your coworkers should be a standard parameter.

[RK800 – 52]: >:(

[RK900 – 00]: Do not use emojis. We are working; it is unprofessional.

RK900 signs out of their chat. He does still leave their communication channel open, in case of emergency. But Connor will have to be the one reinitiate contact if he wants to "speak" again.

Meanwhile, Detective Reed regales the room with tips on how fight back against an 800 model. He has made considerable progress in their own sparring sessions and could likely hold his own against one of RK's predecessors at this point.

_\--throat chops still work, 'cause it can fuck up their neck port, but it's better if you can actually hit the back of the neck, or at least drive your elbow down into their throat while they're up against a wall or on the ground. That way all those delicate little connections get crushed between elbow and concrete._

_All right, all right._ Lowther cuts him off. _Look, that's a nice little video, I appreciate you fighting the good fight, and all—but c'mon. You're still a cop, and I bet that punch didn't even damage it. How do I know that wasn't staged?_

_I show you this next part, and it never leaves the fucking room,_ Reed says. _Or we go straight back to cops and robbers. I will shut your whole shop down._

RK cannot run a preconstruction to calculate the risk of making a threat like that versus the reward of … making this roleplay more believable, perhaps? This is why he is supposed to maintain open communication with Connor: to have the RK800 run the social calculations he cannot in case the situation turns volatile.

But he trusts his partner to handle those calculations himself.

_Type in this order, it'll know what I mean. Play the footage of me and Connor in the archives room._

RK900 always considered that incident as Connor settling the matter. More so, even, given that Connor not only "provoked" Detective Reed into hitting him (in so much as giving one simple refusal to complete a menial task with a valid reason not to do so can be considered a provocation), but also had to stand still and _allow_ the inferior human to hit him.

Whereas Reed honestly attempted to fight Connor without holding back and was subsequently (and literally) "bitch-slapped" back into his place.

Settled.

Showcasing that footage seems to settle the matter of Reed's loyalty as well.

_Do you believe how much I want to make this happen, now?_ Reed asks. _'Cause I can hop on ninety-four and talk to the Ann Arbor chapter in--_

_Yeah, all right,_ Lowther says. _But I want to check out these 'military-grade' materials before I hand over the hundred K._

_One fifty._

_Seriously?_

The two armed humans shift their stances at the [tone] of Lowther's voice. Since the so-called "technician" has not noticed the user interface is fake, that RK's communication software is running, or the hack into their own terminal, RK900 turns on the computer's web camera but prevents the light from flashing. He receives a live feed of the room, the monitor helpfully rotated to look at all the human occupants already from when they watched the video.

_You've got some fucking balls,_ Lowther says.

_Yeah, and that's why I don't like being dicked around,_ Detective Reed replies. _Price went up for watching that and wasting this much of my time, but don't worry--_ He slaps RK's chassis again. _Tin can here is worth it._

Lowther stays silent for [3.8] seconds. _It fucking better be._

_Its jacket alone is bulletproof up to point-fifty caliber,_ Reed says. _Chassis rated against an AK-47, with seven-point-six-two by thirty-nine millimeter ammunition. Put them together, and it'll stop a high-powered rifle without taking significant damage. Stop armor piercing rounds too, if you don't care about making repairs._

_I want a demonstration,_ Lowther says.

_Sure._

Reed unholsters his service weapon. RK could react now, but he delays activating his combat protocols. He is not to engage the other humans without a clear signal from his [partner]. He will not repeat the same mistake he made at the mall.

The two armed humans only start to react by the time Reed raises the gun. RK keeps a running preconstruction of possible targets and immediately deduces that the detective's current trajectory indicates the most likely target is …

Himself.

RK900 does not react. He will follow his [partner's] lead.

Detective Reed shoots him twice in the head.

The other humans shout and duck, even though the ricocheted bullets do not come close to hitting any of them. RK sustains no damage. Reed aimed very well to hit precisely at the center of his forehead, where his "skull" is the thickest. Regardless, as pointed out earlier, the bulk of his processes are located inside his chassis. Unlike his inferior predecessor, even a successful headshot would not deactivate him entirely.

[RK800 – 52]: Nines, are you OK?

_See? Bulletproof like a motherfucker._

[RK800 – 52]: RK, please respond.

[RK900 – 00]: I have not sustained damage.

_Crazy fucking cop! Jesus, fine, I believe you._

[RK800 – 52]: It's not about the physical damage.

[RK800 – 52]: That was _not_ OK!

_All right, then we're all good,_ Detective Reed says. _Listen, I'll show your boy here how to pull up its specs, press the buttons that make its fangs pop—god, you think it looks creepy now. Give you the full experience. But I wanna see the cash first._

[RK800 – 52]: >:(

[RK900 – 00]: Shut up, Connor.

_Fine, fine._ Lowther motions to one of the armed humans to fetch the money from his office. _You're a real fuckin' dick, you know that?_

_Captain puts it in my PDR every quarter._

The other human returns with a briefcase. He sets it in front of Lowther, not Detective Reed. Lowther opens it and counts out stacks of rectangles only vaguely-defined by RK's sonar input. Based on the microscopic amounts of cocaine and human semen that waft through the air as the stacks are moved, RK will assume they consist of bundled paper money.

_Hundred grand._

_Hundred-fifty,_ Reed immediately counters.

_I am this goddamn close to beating the shit out of you and saying I caught you trespassing without a warrant._

_Oh, c'mon. Hundred-fifty is still a bargain for any RK model, much less a fucking upgraded version._

Lowther stays silent.

_I even brought it to you all topped up with thirium._ Reed says. _Really, I'm doing you a favor._

_Yeah?_ Lowther's voice does not indicate [agreement].

_Yeah._

Meanwhile, Reed keeps his tone infuriatingly smug. RK900 knows very well how quickly that tone can provoke a violent reaction. The last time his partner used it, he was insisting cereal was a form of [soup].

(This opinion is [incorrect]. While Nines may be willing to expand his taste database via "eating" liquids and soft foods that will not become mashed gunk within his storage bio-component, cereal is not a [soup], and he also will not be drinking the flavored leftover milk after Gavin referred to it as "broth.")

_I know you don't have any other supply line now that everyone thinks these freaks are people 'stead of property,_ Reed continues. _No more poor damaged bots dropped off at the junk yard for you to scavenge. You should really be thank--_

_We got a supply just fine without any fucking cops,_ one of the armed humans snaps.

Lowther makes a short noise in the back of his throat, and the other human shuts up. Reed waits a moment, then makes his own little series of noises, possibly accompanied by some sort of [facial expression]? RK switches from sonar to the laptop's web camera to check.

He has previously witnessed Reed make this exact facial expression before texting Hank the spongebob meme in which the sponge waves its posterior and the caption uses a combination of lowercase and uppercase letters to convey a tone of [mockery].

_Yeah, sure._ Detective Reed's voice does not indicate [agreement]. _I bet you totally do have some other source, that just came up right now, while we're negotiating the price. Right. Still not dropping under one-forty-fi--_

This time Lowther himself interrupts him. _We've got plenty of thirium, straight from those horny idiot--_

The human abruptly cuts himself off. RK900 does not know whether that statement counts as a confession.

_Wait,_ Reed says, then he pauses and shakes his head. _No. Nooo. Like, I get that you might've picked up some bots we didn't get to yet—you're welcome on slowing that down, by the way—but how would you even cause that? Nah._

Lowther barely resists for a full second before he's compelled to brag. _I got a guy giving sex classes._

Reed barks out a laugh. _Wha—fucking? Sex classes? Oh man, what. Fucking robots pull a whole goddamn revolt just so they can learn how to like it when they suck cock? Holy fuck, that's great!_

_Yeah, Paul teaches them some woo-woo shit about embracing their sexuality or whatever,_ Lowther says. _It's legit all the way through. Might as well teach the ones with human partners how to make themselves useful, y'know? But he just so happens to talk about wireplay—which the dumb fuckers are doing anyway—and if he accidentally recommends unplugging a few wires that aren't supposed to be unplugged … well. Accidents happen._

_Oh yeah._ Reed nods. _Hey, though. We did send out a PSA telling them, y'know, knock it off, this shit's dangerous, blah blah blah. I was hoping that would just make it cooler—like telling kids not to fuck each other or do drugs. But you should have your boy like, I dunno. Talk about it like it's breathplay, I guess? Totally dooon't do this, it can be dangerous._

Lowther nods along with him. _Yeah, yeah, once he gets a good audience build up, we're gonna try to get 'em to take out their pumps next._

Now [that] will suffice as a confession.

[RK800 – 52]: RK, prepare to engage.

[RK900 – 00]: Prepared. Wait for Detective Reed's signal.

_Their--?_ Reed whistles, long and low. _Shit. Now that's ambitious. And I suggested breathplay. Fuck, man, you're already way ahead of me. You know what? Yeah. How 'bout one-twenty-five?_

Lowther laughs. _You're a stubborn little fucker, huh? One-ten._

_One-twenty, and I get to shoot it again._

[RK800 – 52]: We are cleared to proceed now. You do not need to endure--

RK900 transmits his message over his predecessor's.

[RK900 – 00]: Wait for Detective Reed's signal.

_Nah, I ain't buying damaged goods._

_I already shot it though,_ Reed points out. _If you're willing to buy it now, what's one more time? You have no idea how much I hate this fucking android._

_Fine,_ Lowther agrees. _One more shot, but I'm taking it out of your ass if you damage the thing. And no more getting cute about the price. I'm paying one-twenty—final._

_Deal._

And [that] will be sufficient to charge Wesley Lowther [Anti-Android League, Detroit chapter, leader] with illegally purchasing an android, possibly with intent to kill to facilitate the illegal use of thirium to produce red ice.

Detective Reed draws his gun without provoking fire from the "muscle" with their own small caliber weapons, as allowed and expected, then turns it on Lowther. From the other human's sharp inhale, that was [not] expected.

"DPD, you're under arrest!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nines must be shot in the face at least once per fic, I DO make the rules and I'm NOT sorry
> 
> (is it because he's secretly Me? the world may never know!)
> 
> also, please chime in: is sleazy Detective Reed super hot, yes or no, Nines and I both would really like to know!
> 
> **coming up next:** Go Down Shooting -- Gavin gets to arrest Luther, then chase after the tech who tries to run. Unfortunately, tech-boy got reinforcements in the form of a truck barreling down the alley right at him. Fortunately, tank trumps truck. What tank? Why, Nines of course!


	26. Go Down Shooting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin gets to arrest Luther, then chase after the tech who tries to run. Unfortunately, tech-boy got reinforcements in the form of a truck barreling down the alley right at him. Fortunately, tank trumps truck. What tank? Why, Nines of course!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> are we really at chapter twenty-six?? *macaulay culkin face*
> 
> I forgot to include anything in the summary for this chapter, but there is Soft Domestic Comfort at the end (once Gavin gets off his bullshit) and this leads into a sex scene next chapter ;)
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** death threats; near death experience, attempted murder via truck; discussion of abuse / emotional abuse; light drinking and recreational drug use (marijuana); Gavin yells at Nines and kind of shoves him, but gets himself under control; reference to Gavin's relationship with his football coach when he was a teenager

Gavin really fucking loves his job.

“Hands above your head,” he barks at Lowther. “On the ground.”

He doesn’t pay much attention to the other two guys meant to be the muscle. He’s got an RK, and now he’s got the leader of Detroit’s AAL chapter dead to rights on both trafficking androids _and_ the wireplay cases.

The technician’s already long gone. That dick bolted the instant shit hit the fan, straight out the back door and into the alley. To Nines’ credit, he didn’t chase after him and leave Gavin to deal with three pissed off perps on his own.

“You’re dead, you’re fucking dead, you hear me?” Lowther snarls.

It’s a lot less intimidating when he’s on his stomach. Gavin mutters _yeah, yeah_ , and cuffs his hands behind his back. When he glances up, Nines has one guy laid out on his back, stepping on his wrist, and the other guy’s hand in some sort of twist that makes him drop his gun with a pained cry. 

First Guy uses his left hand to clumsily pull his gun, but Nines simply picks up Second Guy and flips him over so he lands on First. They both wheeze from the impact, while Nines leans down and casually takes the gun away like taking candy from a really weak and stupid baby.

Gavin hauls Lowther up to his feet right as Nines also straightens back up and disarms the gun.

“I’m gonna kill your whole fucking family,” Lowther still threatens. “You hear me? Fucking traitor ass bitch!”

Yeah, yeah. The only family Gavin’s got literally just beat a motherfucker with another motherfucker, so he’s pretty sure they’re good.

“Hold him for Anderson,” Gavin tells Nines.

Their backup has already hit the main garage, and muscle boys are still groaning on the ground, so they can handle the rest. Normally, Gavin would insist on processing the biggest arrest himself, but this time he just shoves his perp over to Nines. It still counts for him if his partner makes the arrest, right? Mi perp es su perp or whatever.

Anyway, he doesn’t go far. Just out the backdoor to scope out the alley. He keeps his gun raised and checks both directions, but there’s nowhere to hide, not even a dumpster or a fire escape. That makes the laptop thrown to the side all the more obvious.

He’d seen the tech grab it when they ran. Maybe it’s not important. He’s pretty sure the tech only got that fake home screen or whatever Nines and Connor setup, not any of his actual specs or code.

But he’s damn sure he doesn’t actually know shit about how any of that works. Plugging directly into Nines’ neckport is how that WJ700 hacked him too, and Gavin isn’t going to let some asshat get away if there’s even the slightest chance he could have something on Nines.

So he doesn’t think twice about jogging over to the end of the alley to retrieve the laptop. He’s still turning it over to check how badly the throw damaged it when he hears the rev of a truck.

And by the time he looks up, it’s already barreling down the alley.

He gets a perfect snapshot picture of the technician in the passenger seat, holding onto the oh shit handle and screaming. Another confirmed AAL member sits in the driver’s seat, hunched over the wheel. Tech must’ve gotten in his truck to escape, but this asshole clearly has other plans.

There’s nowhere else he can go. Not even a dumpster or a fire escape. His mind hazily tosses out the possibility of trying to get back to the door and squeeze inside, but he’s not a state-of-the-art android running second-by-second preconstructions.

Gavin drops the laptop and draws his gun again. He’d rather go down shooting anyway.

He aims for the engine block. Partially so IA can’t say shit about another officer-involved shooting, mainly because killing the guy behind the wheel would only turn him into dead weight—including his foot on the gas pedal.

He gets two shots off that might hit, but the truck’s still going, and he can’t believe he’s going to die from getting run over after a sting. 

Just fucking typical.

Then the wall explodes and the truck slam sideways into the other wall. It looks like it just got tackled by a tank, by a goddamn—

RK900.

He hit the truck right in the side of the engine, which now looks like so much crumpled tinfoil. The impact crushed the front end into the wall, while the back end fishhooked in the opposite direction, so now it’s wedged diagonally blocking off the whole alley.

Nines steps back with oil, paint, and metal scraps flaking off his jacket. Not a single hair out of place though.

The driver manages to shove his door open wide enough to crawl out of the wreckage. Gavin’s brain snaps back into focus. Nines hit the front end far enough forward that both the occupants had been spared the pulverized fate of the engine block, but the tech at least seems too stunned to run.

“RK, chase, non-lethal,” he orders.

Nines jumps over the crumpled hood of the truck and chases after the other guy immediately. Gavin approaches the passenger’s side slowly. The metal’s bent hard enough he has to pry the door open with a hard yank with his left hand, gun still held in his right.

From the way the tech hunkers down and whimpers, it probably isn’t necessary.

“Connor, get a medic,” Gavin calls.

His android hearing should be good enough to catch that no matter what he’s doing in the garage, and Gavin’s not going to risk moving someone who could claim "whip lash" and "spine injuries" without a medic present.

"Sit tight 'til you can be arrested," Gavin tells the tech.

The other man groans. "Didn't know … he'd do … that."

Yeah, yeah. Sorry about nearly mowing you down, mister officer. God. Between how anticlimactic arresting Lowther had been and needing Nines to save his ass, this sting has really started to suck.

Connor comes out the backdoor to join them, and he's not super stoked about that either.

"Hank's got Lowther," he says. "I'll stay here with him until our medic gets through. You should check on RK."

Gavin holsters his gun and slaps the roof of the truck. "Got yourself a babysitter."

He leaves them with the tech trying to explain to Connor that the AAL just paid him, that's all it was, it's nothing personal, and the economy—

Blah blah blah.

He hops into the truck bed because that's the least damaged, least-sharp-metal-pieces part of the truck. Since he's scanning the other end of the alley and the street beyond it to maybe catch of a glimpse of where their perp ran, he doesn't notice Nines crouched down on the ground right on the other side of the truck until he almost jumps down on top of the android.

He's got the dipshit driver pinned on the ground with one hand placed firmly on his chest and nothing else. Dipshit Driver screams and flails and generally makes a fool of himself. Gavin sits down on the lip of the truck bed.

"Hey buddy," he calls. "You ready to get arrested for attempted murder?"

Dipshit Driver yells at him some more and kicks his heels against the asphalt. Since everything else is taken care of, Gavin decides to just go ahead and let this one wear himself out.

"He's not going to let you go until you behave like a big boy."

Dipshit does not behave like a big boy. He grabs at Nines' jacket, attempts a super ineffectual sideways punch at the center of his chest, and finally slaps his hand over his face.

"Cease," Nines says. "Cease. Cea--"

The world's dumbest criminal gets his fingers inside Nines' mouth as he speaks. Shit. Gavin is about to yell at Connor that they're going to need that medic _stat_ to stich some fingers back on, but instead of biting down, Nines detaches his jaw like at the charity auction to reveal his throat full of teeth.

"Cease," he issues the command directly from his voice box.

Dipshit stares down the maw of an eldritch horror, screams again, and pisses himself.

"All right, I'm gonna cuff you now."

Gavin hops down, grabs one hand while he's still shell-shocked, and slaps a cuff on it. Nines eases up just enough to let him flip the guy over, then sets his hand on the perp's shoulder blades while Gavin wrestles him into the other half of the cuffs.

As far as difficult arrests go, that actually wasn't so bad. Officer John--the android he'd recommended for the ACU--even jogs around the corner to approach from the other end of the alley once he's got the cuffs on.

"Perimeter secure, Detective!" he says.

"Great." Gavin hauls their perp to his feet. "Get this one to Anderson or Miller, all right?"

"Yes sir!" 

John takes the perp away, leaving him and Nines standing together in the alley In Which He Almost Died.

Cool cool cool.

"Detective."

Gavin turns and leans against Nines' chest. The big bastard is fucking tall enough is forehead barely comes up to his shoulder, but that's OK, it's OK.

"M'okay," Gavin realizes he's mumbling too now. "S'fine, m'okay."

"I will verify that."

Nines takes his hands out from behind his back, moving them slowly enough Gavin can crack an eye open to take a peek out of his peripherals. They look mostly normal now, no claws. Still twitching a little, in that too-fast mechanical way.

One hand settles firmly on his back, fingers splaying out wide. The other flutters across his body—back of his neck, then his pulse, down his right side, up again to his face, then into his mouth. Gavin only lets that happen for a second, because he's too keyed up to hold anything in his mouth gently at the moment.

"Deep breath in," Nines says like a monotone doctor.

Gavin inhales slowly as deep as he can, then exhales just as slowly.

"You are physically unharmed."

Gavin nods. Sure, right. Unharmed. Physically.

"You?" he forces himself to ask.

He lifts his head and looks up at Nines, his right hand automatically raising halfway up to touch his face before he remembers Nines doesn't like being touched.

"Are you good?" he asks again.

Nines takes his hand and lifts it the rest of the way up to touch his forehead in answer. Not even a fucking scratch. His LED is down from red to yellow now, but it flickers blue for a second to prove that he's fine.

"Leave."

Gavin's stomach lurches. "What?"

Nines turns his head to look at—Gavin looks too and flinches when he sees Connor standing _right there_ beside them. His hand automatically goes for his gun and—for just a second—he really does feel sorry for that poor guy Nines hunted down. Creepy fucking androids don't make a single goddamn sound when they move.

"Go away, Connor," Nines says.

Oh. Right. He was speaking to Connor, he just didn't turn his head to look at the person he was talking to because he doesn't have a social module and really isn't into that whole "eye contact" thing.

(Except for when he stares directly at Gavin without blinking to show his undying affection.)

"I have recovered the technician's laptop," Connor says. "The two of you need to debrief with Lieutenant Anderson now. Nines should also be checked over by a technician."

"We will report to Lieutenant Anderson. I decline," Nines says, answering in order without any segue.

Weirdly enough, that actually makes Gavin feel better. Connor and Nines sassing at each other? Normal. Nines refusing to use any sort of conversational transition? Normal-for-him. Just a totally normal, regular day where Gavin didn't die, wow.

"Your partner shot you in the head," Connor replies with a scowl.

Gavin didn't even know the other android could scowl. Frown, sure. Sad puppy eyes, definitely. But this time he actually looks mad. Nines definitely wears the look better.

"And unlike your model, I remain undamaged," Nines says.

"He--"

"This conversation conflicts with my order to report to Lieutenant Anderson."

Nines guides Gavin past Connor with the hand on his back. He catches a glimpse of the other android rolling his eyes before they go back into the garage.

"So you take orders from me now?" Connor asks as he trails after them.

"You were conveying an order from Lieutenant Anderson."

"You do not know that."

"Yes I do."

"You cannot."

"Incorrect."

By now, the inside of the autobody shop is filled with DPD officers sweeping the place for any extra evidence. Tina didn't get placed on the sting, which sucks, but Chris has made it inside. He looks up when they walk in and his eyebrows raise when he hears Nines and Connor bickering with each other.

"Oh, so you're _brothers_ ," he says.

"No."

"Yes!"

"Both of you knock it off and get over here," Hank calls.

Nines and Connor both sulk their way into silence. In Nines' defense, at least he isn't blatantly fucking his brother's only male father figure. How Connor can have a whole ass social module and not figure out why Nines hates him is a miracle in self-centered vanity.

"All right, first shit first," Hank says when they get over there. "Nines, do you need medical assistance?"

"No," Nines answers, without correcting the use of his nickname. "Our first priority should be confirming our target's arrest and that he is being securely transported for processing."

"First priority is my team's health and safety, because I'm the authority figure here and I said so," Hank replies.

Nines sulks harder without technically making a facial expression. It's a honed skill.

"Reed, you wanna tell us why the hell you shot your own partner?" Hank asks next. "'Cause last I checked, you where screaming attemped murder about that sort of thing."

Gavin crosses his arms over his chest. "If you're really so fucking concerned, you can ask me in private so Nines doesn't feel like he has to defend me. Then ask _him_ in private too if he still trusts me instead of putting him on the spot in front of everyone, including his potential abuser."

Nines makes the exact same world's-most-offended facial expression Connor had made earlier—not that Gavin would ever risk his life to say that out loud. He's already cheated death once today.

"My what?" Nines asks.

"Hypothetically," Gavin mutters back to him.

"I could beat the shit out of you." He doesn't even have the decency to sound threatening. "I could literally beat you to the point of physical defecation."

"Abuse isn't always physical, Nines," Connor says. "Hurtful words, name-calling, and emotional manipulation also count as abuse."

Nines just stares at him. Connor probably thinks he's making some snide point about what an abusive dick Gavin was at the start of their partnership, but at the rate he's going, the other android should honestly be taking psychic damage by now from the mental dissonance required to sanctimoniously gossip about someone to make yourself look better, repeatedly disrespect their boundaries, and try to forcibly deviate them—which Gavin's pretty sure is the android equivalent of some ABA autism cure bullshit—then turn right around and lecture them on how abuse isn't always physical.

With zero self-awareness.

"Lowther wanted a demonstration," Gavin speaks up, to prevent Nines from running an experiment to see if he can also beat Connor the point of making his little brother shit himself.

"And you thought it would be a good idea to shoot him in the head?" Hank asks.

Gavin shrugs. "The fuck else? I already said the jacket was reinforced—should I have ordered Nines to take it off?"

Nines' LED snaps to yellow at the mere thought of taking off his precious Cyberlife jacket in front of multiple people. That's like third base for him.

"And then what if I shot him in the chest, and they saw his under-armor beneath the bullet holes in his dress shirt and wanted him to take all that off too?"

Nines goes full red. He doesn't bother breathing or blinking at the best of times, but it seems like he somehow manages to go even stiller, like a statue frozen in headlights.

"Shooting him in the head was the best goddamn demonstration that asshole was gonna get," Gavin says.

Hank takes one look at Nines, then nods. "All right. But I want it in both of your incident reports that Nines wasn't hurt by that little stunt."

"Got it."

"Yes, Lieutenant."

"Good. Now then." Hank claps Gavin on the shoulder. "You both did great, and we got our guy. So you know what your reward is?"

Gavin performs his own little freezing maneuver beneath the weight of Hank's hand and praise.

"Paperwork."

He relaxes and groans, while Nines makes a glitchy smile like he's actually been given a real reward. He drops the smile when he notices Gavin's reaction though.

"I will provide you with a coffee, Detective," he says.

"Don't be gross," Connor immediately says.

"Hey quick question," Gavin asks. "Now that you've got a digestive system, can you shit? No reason for asking, Nines and I were just wondering for totally non-violent reasons, you hypocritical little--"

"No fighting or no one gets coffee," Hank says.

Yeah, yeah.

***

By the time they stumble back home after booking, processing, and writing reports, a lot of the adrenaline has worn off, but Gavin's still feeling restless and antsy from the post-sting high. His usual routine after a sting or a raid consists of food, drinking, and either sex or more drinking.

But now he's got Nines with him, and no. His agenda does _not_ include analyzing or doing any sort of thought whatsoever about "them" going "home."

Together.

Nines just follows him everywhere and it is what it is. That's it.

So of fucking course the android just has to ask, "What is your typical itinerary after a successful mission, Detective?"

"M'off duty," Gavin mutters, kicking off his shoes.

"What is your typical itinerary after a successful mission, Gavin?"

He goes to the refrigerator, pulls out a beer, and chugs half of it in one go as an answer. Nines does not look impressed. Guess that's not really a helpful answer to someone who can't drink or get drunk.

"There's thirium," he says.

Nines only inclines his head by a fraction of a centimeter in response. It doesn't sound like thirium actually tastes good, and no one's managed to invent an alcoholic version for androids yet, so he can see why there's not really any point in drinking it if his levels aren't low.

"Food." Gavin uses every single one of his brain cells—all two of them—to think of what would actually be helpful for Nines. "Shower?"

Nines rewards him with a full head tilt. "May I utilize the shower first?"

Oh wow. For Nines, that's like dropping to his knees and begging for something. Gavin makes a helpless gesture toward the bathroom as permission, because fuck if he can deny his partner something when he actually manages to convey he wants it.

"You will provide yourself with food?" Nines asks instead of leaving.

"Yeah, I'm a big boy," Gavin says. "You go shower while I eat."

Nines buzzes his phone and heads into his bedroom. He hasn't really slept over for the past two weeks. Not a good look to bring home an android every night when trying to get back into the Anti-Android League.

Gavin pretends seeing Nines back in his apartment doesn't feel good, just like how he's spent the last half-month pretending it hasn't sucked without him.

And it hasn't. Too much. If maybe he's starting working longer hours again to spend more time at the station instead of heading home alone, that's … nobody's business.

He's way too tired from the adrenaline crash to actually cook, so he just pours some tortilla chips on a plate and steadily adds cheese, beans, diced tomatoes, jalepenos, guacamole, sour cream, and some leftover shredded bbq chicken until it looks like a small mountain of sin, then nukes the hell out of it.

Since Nines is in the shower and can't judge him, he eats it on the couch, laying down with the plate balanced on his chest, so anything that drops off a chip just lands on his own body.

When he wakes up at a bleary and undetermined amount of time later from his nachos coma, the water isn't running anymore. There's no other way to tell if Nines is still in his apartment, since it's not like the android breathes or makes sound.

**u still here?**

_Yes. I am on the roof._

Gavin heaves himself off the couch and goes out onto the balcony, grabbing his carton on the way. It's a shitty, tiny, pathetic excuse for a balcony, but he's managed to squeeze in a lawn chair and an ash stray so he doesn't smoke inside the apartment. Nines isn't out here either, so he lights up a smoke.

A moment later, there's a soft thump.

It sounds like one of the cats from his last apartment that liked to jump on and off his fire escape from the neighbor's window, so the noise doesn't worry him. He just wonders which of his neighbors got a cat.

Then he actually looks up and sees his giant ass partner looming over him.

"Th'phck," he asks around the cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

"Not that I am condoning your marijuana habit," Nines says. "But if you must, a--" He stops and makes air quotes. "--'joint' would be more efficient for relaxation, Detective."

Gavin takes a drag, then taps off the ash. "Did you jump off the roof?"

Nines doesn't answer, the same way Tina's fat asshole cat, Chungus, pretends not to hear her tell him to get his butt off the counter. He should take Nines to meet her cats someday. The android would probably like an animal that only allows touching on its own terms and shows affection by sitting in the same room and staring at you from fifteen feet away.

"I calculated my landing precisely," Nines finally says.

Gavin snorts. "Did you calculate whether this shitty balcony could handle your three hundred pound ass landing on it from--"

He's cut off by Nines scooping him out of the chair and taking him back inside to be dumped onto the couch.

"Fuck!" Gavin smacks and punches at his chest until he lets go. "I fucking hate you!"

It's not true, he just screams hurtful shit at the people dumb enough to stick around him as his first, second, and third response to being taken off guard.

"I am sorry, but I have your permission to physically move you when your safety is compromised." Nines lets go and steps back. "Is that permission revoked?"

"Where's my fucking cigarette?" Gavin grumbles instead of answering.

Nines turns to go back out on the balcony, where he must have dropped it out of shock.

"Hey!"

He stops.

"If it's so goddamn unsafe, how come you get to go back out there?"

"I would not be damaged by the fall," Nines replies.

"It's three stories."

"I would not be dam--"

Gavin gets up and slaps both hands onto the android's chest. It's not quite a shove. He hasn't ever laid hands on—well, back then, Nines wasn't his partner-partner, they're not even in a relationship now, and twenty seconds ago wasn't, it doesn't count because--

Fuck.

He gets the idea from how they hold hands to stop each other from swinging on Connor sometimes, except this time he wraps his whole arms around the android. Like being physically restrained but in reverse.

"If you need physical attention, we can go to the gym," Nines says. "I will spar with you."

Gavin grunts against his slick Cyberlife jacket. God, he hates that thing.

"Or the club. I will remove the rule against sex."

"Mm?"

"I am not offering myself," Nines clarifies. "But I will not forbid you from having your own sex life, so long as it does not interfere with our own activities."

Shit. That's actually kind of nice of him. Not that Gavin's getting laid with anyone else, but still.

"Or negatively affect your health."

Gavin snorts. There's the catch. The android knows good and goddamn well his attitude toward sex is unhealthy at best, and honestly flat out self-destructive. Even if there's other men out there, who he can meet cruising at a club, that will not just allow but insist on safe words and explicit consent, and stop to enforce it, and ask about his limits, actually listen and respect them, and still fuck him into sweet glorious submission, well. They've all been taking a vacation out of Detroit for the last ten years.

Or maybe it's just him. He knows he's a bratty sub, but he fucking _hates_ that description because it's too close to a daddy kink, treating him like a misbehaving child, like--

He's already been there and done that with his football coach at fourteen, thanks.

"Can just jack off in the shower," he mutters.

"You can. Should I be doing something?"

"Don't have to join me or anything."

"I know." 

Nines says that, but he still brings up his hands to return the hold, the same way he did in the alley. The hand splaying across his back grounds him, while the one cupping the back of his head scratches gently at his scalp.

"I do not have an itinerary of my own," Nines continues.

"Shit. Sorry," Gavin mutters. "You're so good at everything, I forget you haven't done any of this before."

Nines gives a smug little vibrate, and his bad mood starts melting into something softer. Exhausted-soft, but at least he doesn't feel like something is trying to claw its way out of his chest anymore.

"You can, uh … do you still have those pajama clothes here?"

He knows Nines left some here from the last time they hung out before they really had to get into their roles for the sting and go no contact outside of work, and he certainly hasn't thrown them out. Nines might have taken them home though. He thought he saw the android messing around in his closet, doing something.

"Yes."

"OK, you can change into those and get comfortable while I shower."

"I will be able to hear you masturbate," Nines says matter-of-factly. "Is that allowed?"

Allowed. Gavin's pretty sure if the android _didn't_ want to hear anything, he'd just disable his audio or whatever. Or straight up leave. He's seen Nines walk away from a conversation in the middle of their coworkers speaking before, whenever he deems it "unproductive."

But allowed implies wanting. You're allowed to have ice cream after dinner, no one describes it as being _allowed_ to cut off your hand.

"Yeah." Gavin stops and clears his throat. "I can—you don't have to listen or … do, anything you don't want to. But I'm not. You're allowed to listen."

Nines blinks down at him slowly, LED spinning a lazy blue. Gavin reaches up and rubs his thumb over it. Nines lets him. He allowed the hug too, even though that was probably a lot of sudden physical contact for the android.

"You can get changed into comfy clothes," Gavin tells him softly. "Lay down in my bed. Keep it warm for me."

Nines leans into the touch and gives him another slow blink. Nines. Nines, Nines, Nines. What would his partner want? He admits to wanting so little, barely even understands the concept outside of raw survival, that it's hard to think of anything other than a shower.

But the last time they'd showered together, he liked it when Gavin washed his hair. Too late for that now though.

"You can brush your hair."

Nines tilts his hand into Gavin's hand.

"I've got a brush in my bathroom for when Tina sleeps over. You can grow your hair out real long and brush it."

Nines doesn't do anything differently at the suggestion, but he doesn't shoot it down either.

"And you can listen."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nines has LEARNED from his experience at the mall, and he will never leave his human alone to Chase(tm) ever again uwu
> 
> also, now that we've all agreed that sleazy / competent Gavin is sexy, let's move on to our next subject: Nines is literally a fucking tank with a side of eldritch horror monster, do we smash???
> 
> last thing--does Gavin's explanation about the shooting Nines in the head thing help make you forgive him? just a little?
> 
> Nines: the Cyberlife jacket stays ON during a case
> 
> Connor: but he SHOT you in the HEAD
> 
> Nines: I said what I said.
> 
>  **coming up next:** Gavin "destresses" in the shower while Nines listens, as part of the android's own experiment to determine the boundaries of his sexual attraction. When Nines considers his experiment to be a failure, Gavin tries to reassure him and finds out Nines hadn't turned his sensors on for their last blowjob experiment. So what's a sub to do except offer to try, try, try again?


	27. Limited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin "destresses" in the shower while Nines listens, as part of the android's own experiment to determine the boundaries of his sexual attraction. When Nines considers his experiment to be a failure, Gavin tries to reassure him and finds out Nines hadn't turned his sensors on for their last blowjob experiment. So what's a sub to do except offer to try, try, try again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone, just a reassurance that this chapter is meant to be Nines exploring his sexuality on his own terms, to decide for himself what he does and does not like, instead of only having memories of sexual trauma. he does have some internalized aphobia and expresses he's "disappointed" that he isn't sexually attracted to Gavin, but he isn't trying to "fix" or "cure" himself in this chapter. there also isn't any coercion from Gavin, who specifically tells him they don't have to have sex and he would be just as happy hanging out together
> 
> I'm putting this disclaimer because I'm asexual myself and also have past trauma, so it's a really fine line for me between imagining myself in a sexual situation in which I feel good and am able to "reclaim" something enjoyable for myself bc orgasms are still nice and could be extra nice shared with a partner I love versus that same imaginary scenario feeling like I would just be going through the motions in order to please a partner or make myself learn to respond / act ""normally""
> 
> sometimes there's stuff I don't read because Idon'ttrustlikethat.jpg and an asexual character putting themselves into a sexual situation in an attempt to try feeling sexual attraction / arousal hits far too close to the second scenario most of the time :/
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** internalized aphobia, some aphobic sentiment from Gavin that he quickly corrects, discussion of Nines' asexuality and the trope of asexual people being seen as emotionless robots, Nines specifically asks to engage in sexual activity with Gavin to test if there are sex acts he enjoys (and this does not negate his asexuality nor is it an attempt to "fix" him)

Gavin gets into the shower and probably scrubs himself down in two minutes flat. He's trying not to make a big deal out of it, but he can't shake the pulsing awareness that Nines is listening.

His dick's already half-hard just from that. He thinks _Nines_ and his dick looks up just in case, like a dog that heard the front door open.

He forces himself to wash his hair too so he doesn't look too eager, but he can't resist long after that. He turns and leans back against the wall at the end of the shower, out of the water.

It also turns him toward the bedroom. He can't help imagining Nines is watching him too--heat vision or something--so he may as well give the android a show.

Not a long one, he has to admit as soon as he grasps his dick. The adrenaline might have worn off, but he's still got a lot of excess energy keying him up from a sting that was somehow both anticlimactic and nearly killed him.

"Phck," he breathes, letting his head tilt back against the wall.

He strokes quickly, no need to tease or work himself up. He can't really imagine crawling into bed with Nines where he's waiting in his room since the android is so particular about what they do, so it's easier to just remember a scene they've already done. He's been getting himself off to the memories of Nines fucking him for half a month now anyway.

"Nines …"

He can't hold back the whine. His favorite jerk off fantasy is when Nines let him lick and suck his dick like a toy he'd toss to a puppy to keep him preoccupied.

Shit, not long at all.

Gavin shoves three of his fingers in his mouth. It's a poor recreation of Nines' perfect dick, but it'll stop him from calling out the android's name again like a loser.

God, Nines really did pick out the dick of his dreams though. Long and thick, but not an unmanageable girth. He's never met a dick in the flesh he couldn't best, but too many people choosing a dildo only think about what size length they want and underestimate a wildly unrealistic girth. 

Nines' was thick enough to stretch his jaw wide, but no more than that. Just a delicious, perfect ache. He can't wait to feel it inside his other needy hole and--

Gavin whines again, the sound thankfully muffled around his fingers. They're not as long or thick as what he's imagining, and he misses licking at that plump, pretty head--Nines chose a circumsized version, probably so there wouldn't be any foreskin that would need extra cleaning.

Not that he's complaining. Shit, maybe Nines could get another. Stuff his mouth with one and fuck him from behind with the other.

That's just the mental image he needs to come, so he speeds up his strokes. Unfortunately, he still manages to hear the buzz of his cellphone on the bathroom counter though the haze of pleasure.

Gavin pulls his fingers out of his mouth and groans. "Babe, I can't fucking read that."

No response. He doesn't stop stroking himself, but he doesn't try to finish either.

"Sir," he tries. "I wanna come."

His phone vibrates twice, thank god. He grips himself tighter and puts his fingers--

One short buzz for no.

"God, fuck!" He drops his left hand and grabs his thigh instead. "No fingers? You wanna hear me, baby?"

Two buzzes yes.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

He repeats that mantra out loud, snapping his hips forward and fucking into his fist. Guess Nines is getting a show after all.

Gavin throws his head back and moans, each stroke followed by a short, harsh pant. He pictures Nines lounging in his bed, idly watching and listening to him like a bitchy monarch observing their court jester.

"Fuck, baby, please?"

He gets nothing for several long moments of hanging on the edge, then finally receives two short buzzes.

_Yes._

Gavin comes immediately, curling forward like he's been punched. It's so good, too good, harshly working himself over until he's shivering from overstimulation. He gives himself one last self-indulgent squeeze that nearly hurts from how sensitive he is, then finally lets go and stumbles through the motions of cleaning up.

"Thanks, babe," he mumbles, knowing Nines can hear that too.

After he rinses off, he steps out of the shower and just stares aimlessly at the sink for a while. It's not so bad having Nines in his home, but he's still aware there's another person out there he'll have to see and interact with if he goes outside.

Luckily, Nines is pretty much the lowest-maintenance person ever--in terms of _social_ needs, Gavin quickly corrects himself. The android doesn't text him or knock on the door when he spends a languid half hour shaving his face, brushing his teeth, and actually doing some skin care for once.

At the end of it, he almost feels like a real person again. It's nice having someone else around, but like, someone he can ignore for a little bit. Grayson always canceled plans and took phone calls right in front of him, but god forbid Gavin try to have a moment alone on the rare evening--

Ugh, no. Stop it. If he's comparing his last relationship to him and Nines being partners, this last month of limited contact has left him way more emotionally needy than he thought.

Gavin squares up at himself in the mirror. Nines hasn't ever been through an undercover operation before, and he's trying to learn healthy emotional coping skills for the first time all at once, like a gifted child raised in a cult that didn't let him go outside for thirty years.

His partner isn't stupid or a child, but it's a hell of a disadvantage to get thrown into the adult life of a cop with less than one year of being alive and half of that spent being treated like an object.

So no more messing around with his dick. He's going to help his partner process this in a safe and healthy way without any more yelling or making it about himself.

Aaand, go.

Nines is sitting in his bed cross-legged when Gavin comes out of the bathroom, and he's momentarily struck even dumber than usual by the sight of the android wearing casual pajamas and long hair.

Of course, "casual" for Nines still looks like a suit, just with softer cloth and minus the jacket. He could probably wear that shit in a Whole Foods and look totally normal.

God, Gavin wants to kiss him. Him and his stupid pretty face and all his long gorgeous hair and--

Fuck. Bad dick! No.

There's a hairbrush and a new paperback book sitting on his nightstand next to the bed, but Nines keeps his hands neatly folded in his lap and his gaze locked straight ahead like he thinks he'll be in trouble if he gets "caught" using them.

"Hey baby," Gavin says softly.

He keeps his hands open and loose at his sides and doesn't approach the bed yet. Nines closes his eyes slowly in greeting. His phone buzzes in his sweat pant's pocket with a text. He checks it, blinking in surprise at the kissy face.

"Yeah?"

_I said what I said._

Gavin shoves his phone back into his pocket and gets his ass in Nines' lap in three seconds flat. His teeth click against the android's mouth with how hard he kisses him. But he forces himself to pull back and take a breath.

"Sorry." He exhales. "Slow."

Nines still sits there with the exact same expression, blue eyes staring at him, not moving or breathing. But he doesn't stop Gavin when he leans back in. He only presses their lips together for a second this time, although he doesn't pull back far after.

"Hey baby," he murmurs again.

Nines closes his eyes and hums in response. Yeah, that's better. Gavin kisses him again, short presses of their lips until Nines starts leaning into it to chase the feeling whenever he pulls back.

"Can I touch your hair?"

Nines nods, then angles his face back for another kiss. When he doesn't get one immediately, he makes an insistent hum. Gavin lets a stupid smile break free since he's not looking anyway, then gives him the kiss. His hair is so long and soft, sliding through his fingers like silk.

"Love your hair down like this."

The hum turns into a deeper thrum, but Nines puts a hand between them and pushes his chest back a little. Gavin goes of course, but he has to wait several long moments while Nines stares at his hand on his chest with a yellow LED.

"Information," the android finally says.

"To tell me or ask me?"

"Tell you."

"OK, well." Gavin squeeze his hand once. "I'm not going anywhere. If you need a bit to figure it out, I can just fuck around on my phone until you're ready."

Nines frowns. When he's not intimidating someone or passing judgment, just making the expression as part of a restricted _feeling_ , it's barely a flicker of his eyebrows. If Gavin wasn't so abused as a child and hypervigilant to every possible emotional reaction of the people around him, he probably wouldn't notice it either.

"Connor sent me a data packet on consent," he says without looking up.

Gavin rolls his eyes. "Yeah, learning about consent--good. Connor? Trusting he sent you that with sincere intentions? Hell no. Just ask me, and we can talk it out together."

Nines' LED stops cycling quite so frantically, even though it stays yellow. "I asked for consent before listening to you."

"Yeah, and that's good too," Gavin says. "You said you block out what people do in the bathroom, so if that changes, I'd like a heads up first."

Nines nods very seriously, eyes still locked straight ahead.

"But everything we just did, that's all fine. You don't need to worry about that."

Nines texts him back instead of replying out loud, so he figures it must be pretty important, embarrassing, or both.

_Do you I need to inform you of when I have the attachment equipped?_

Gavin stares at the screen. He's not particularly eloquent on the best of days, but that question just assassinated his last two brain cells.

"Do you have …" 

He stops and swallows down the words. Asking Nines if he has it equipped right now before answering that question would defeat the point of the question. No thinking with his dick.

"No, you don't have to tell me that." Gavin clears his throat. "I'm sure you don't want an update each time I get a boner."

Nines' whole face twitches. He isn't sure what sort of facial expression that correlates to--amusement, exasperation, disgust? 

"And I made it clear what I was going to do in there," he says. "You asked permission to listen to that specifically, so I wasn't unaware of what you were doing or that it was sexual. Maybe I don't really understand exactly what you get out of this, but I'm definitely not going to complain if it's sexual for you too."

Nines doesn't stop frowning and staring at his hands.

"… is it?" Gavin asks.

"No." His LED turns red. "My experiment was a failure."

"Hey." Gavin stops himself from grabbing the android's face, settling his hands on his shoulders instead. "Hey, nothing about you is a failure, OK?"

"I did not experience sexual arousal from the stimulation of your voice or your touch."

Honestly, if Nines had said it at any other time or in any other way, he might have been disappointed. But his partner already looks so goddamn disappointed in himself, all Gavin can feel is pissed off that society convinced him he's not good enough in just a few months.

"You don't need to," Gavin tells him. "Variety is good, right? They didn't make just one android. Without variety, there wouldn't be like, evolution and … stuff."

Nines stares at him, which is an improvement over staring at his hands at least. "I understand what you are attempting to convey. I think. I do not have to be perfect in every single endeavor. Some activities and traits will be outside my parameters."

"Right. And weren't you specifically designed not to …"

Gavin's brain finally catches up and whispers that reminding Nines Cyberlife deliberately traumatized him and nixed his genitals specifically to promote the idea that he's a cold emotionless robot incapable of love _might not be_ the best thing to say right now.

"Correct," Nines says. "But I do not like to be limited. I have another experiment in mind. Would you be amenable?"

Gavin blinks at the sudden segue. "Uh, yeah. Is it a sex thing?"

"It is a sexual activity, yes," Nines answers. "I have observed my reaction to your voice and touch, but I have not yet tried stimulation directly to the attachment."

"Did you try touching yourself while listening to me?" Gavin asks.

"No. I do not enjoy stimulating myself," Nines says, barely-there frown back again. "However, popular opinion seems to agree it is better with the assistance of another person."

"Wait, what about when I sucked you off though?"

"I was not synced to the sensors within the attachment at that time." Nines casually drops that tidbit, then tilts his head to the side. "As you stated at the mall, it is more efficient to break down a mission into several smaller tasks than attempt too much at once. Correct?"

Well … shit. Gavin had thought Nines seemed pretty into it at the time. He's very much not into leaving his partners hanging during sex. Mostly because he's already That Guy in so many other asshole ways, he doesn't want to add another strike against himself, partially because he kind of has a kink about--

Anyway.

Nines' attachment obviously didn't come with balls or like, a reservoir? He's seen ads for those things, all the tubing and biocomponents needed to store thirium-based lube so androids can get their money shots in too.

But his dick wasn't connected to anything, so Gavin hadn't expected the big finale to include an obvious cum shot. So maybe he'd just kind of assumed--and also, to be fair, the android had fucked him out of his goddamn mind with that whole "make him come on his dick and then suck it off" stunt.

Can anyone really blame him for getting a bit distracted and assuming the way Nines had stuffed his cock so far down the back of his throat he'd felt it in his lungs was the android's silent way of having his own orgasm?

Connor, probably.

"Riiight," Gavin says out loud.

On the other hand, he _knows_ Nines really had been into it, and if he'd gotten that worked up even without actually feeling anything, then …

Gavin smirks. "You need it again, baby?"

Nines' face goes blank, even for an android, even for him. "Detective."

Gavin snickers. "Oh, c'mon. My mouth is good and you know it. That's why you're asking me to suck you off."

Nines redirects his eyes to sulk down at his hands again. "I have not."

"Or hey, if you had some other activity in mind for your next experiment …"

Gavin dares to brush his knuckles against the back of Nines' hand. The android makes a startled _brrrrp_ like a sleepy cat that got unexpectedly petted. Gavin stops touching him, but keeps his hand close. When Nines doesn't turn red or pull his hands away, Gavin slowly presses back again.

His phone dings.

_I do not wish to harm you._

Gavin looks up from the screen with a frown. "Hey. How would that hurt me?"

Nines doesn't answer, so Gavin's paranoid brain fills in answers for him. Mostly about what Eli could have done to him at Cyberlife, or some sweaty neckbeard technician, or hell, even just a perception he got into his head from looking everything up online and seeing too much bad hetero porn. 

He always identifies with the female characters in whatever shows they watch and chooses female avatars when they play videogames, so if all he's seen is women obviously not enjoying themselves, maybe that's the only preconstruction he has for blowjobs at all.

"It didn't hurt me before," Gavin tries. "I really liked blowing you at your apartment, you saw that."

Nines nods, but it's a stiff straight-up-and-down movement.

"So what's different now?"

_I would be synced to the sensors. My judgment could be compromised._

Gavin does a little mental math and quickly figures that while Nines might be genuinely concerned about hurting him, he's also worried about giving up control. If he's _feeling_ , then he might not be _thinking_. That has to be scary for an android whose very first memories were tests to determine whether he should be allowed to live or not.

(Who still has a running background paranoia that he's stuck inside a simulation, a test, and that someone watching behind a glass wall could call it and flip the switch at any moment.)

"It's not like being drunk," Gavin tells him. "That does actually fuck with your inhibitions and impulse control. It's more like …"

He stops because he was going to compare it to that moment when you bite into really good food and--but Nines doesn't know that either.

"Sunlight?" he asks. "Can you feel that?"

Nines looks up. "I can register the radiation levels."

He says it so matter-of-factly, without an ounce of self-pity. It just is what it is to him, and it always has been. Gavin takes a few deep breaths. He doesn't feel sorry for the android, because he's too goddamn pissed about it to feel something soft like that. Maybe his first instinct should be to comfort instead of kick down Eli's front door and feed him his own goddamn manbun.

Nines texts him his next statement, silent and private. The message deletes itself from the chat log as soon as Gavin looks up, so no one else can know or hold it against him.

_I can feel warmth in the shower._

Gavin promises himself he'll never complain about the android running up his water bill ever again. He has griped about it before, shower, shower, showers, that's all he ever does. That's--shit, his horrible little concrete box of an apartment has a shower, that's the very first thing he remodeled. He thought it didn't have any comfort in it at all because it lacked windows, but that wouldn't have done anything for Nines.

It's almost human. Or … person, maybe, he should say instead? This whole time, even now that he knows Nines, he's been picturing the android sitting in that little box without needing or wanting anything, completely unable to understand, but--

He does. He wants.

He wants to feel warm, like anyone else.

"It's like that," Gavin whispers.

Quiet, private, a secret for just the two of them.

"Warm. It starts low." He presses his knuckles gently to Nines' abdomen. "And it spreads through your whole body."

Nines blinks several times.

"I don't know if that will actually happen for you," Gavin admits. "If maybe you're just connected to the sensors in--on that. And the rest of your body doesn't have those kind of sensors. So it might be more intense, just because it's concentrated in one area."

Nines nods, even jerkier than before. "Int͠e̴n͢se̵?"

"Yeah. Sometimes things aren't really good or bad, they're just too intense for you to tell which one it is."

Nines tilts his head as he listens. "Intense."

"I can get you there slow," Gavin promises. "Nice and easy, so it's easier to decide."

"Bad?" Nines asks in a whisper.

"If it's bad, then we'll stop."

Nines' fingers twitch beneath his hand.

"And hey, it's not like we have to do this. We can just--watch TV or, or I could brush your hair or something."

"I do not like to be limited," Nines says more clearly.

"Yeah. What's your signal, baby?" Gavin asks.

Nines frowns, then crinkles his nose. Gavin snorts at the expression.

"Not so fun being on this end of the safe, sane, and consensual, is it?"

Nines looks up and defiantly cycles his LED from blue to yellow to red in answer.

"OK then," Gavin says. "If I see red, I'll stop."

"We should," Nines starts. He stops, wavering. "Orange."

"For a soft stop?" Gavin guesses.

"Yes." Nines demonstrates the color. "To stop the action, not the scene. We have had miscommunication about that before, when we each mistook red for a need to end entirely, rather than stop and reassess."

"Yeah," Gavin agrees. "That's smart, we can add orange."

Nines tries to smile at him. It looks like that phase fourth graders go through where they suddenly forget how to smile for a year or two while their social consciousness develops.

Gavin lifts his hands and slowly cups either side of Nines' jaw. The android allows it, LED finally spinning back between blue and yellow again. He'd prefer all blue, but he'll take it.

"Lemme suck you, baby," he murmurs.

Nines closes his eyes. The color in his cheeks doesn't change at all--he's too pale to really have any color to them anyway--but his processors start to whir. Gavin smiles and leans in slowly to press their lips together.

When he pulls back, Nines asks, "You will … enjoy that?"

"Yep," Gavin immediately reassures him. "I'll probably come too if you let me."

Nines opens his eyes and blinks at him. "Again?"

"Well, it's been a while since in the shower." Gavin shrugs. "I've got a decent recovery time. Haven't lost the ability to go twice in one night at least."

Nines cocks his head to the side, and Gavin can practically see the feral scientist thoughts scrolling through his HUD about testing _exactly_ how many times he can still go in one night.

"Next experiment," he promises. "Can't have anything compromising this one, right?"

"… correct."

Gavin snorts again at how reluctant that was. "All right, just a few quick questions for practical reasons."

Nines' metaphorical be-a-good-boy ears perk up. "You may ask practical questions."

God, he's adorable. Fuck.

"Uhh …" Think! Oh, right. "So if you're wearing the attachment now, and you're all synced up, is it like, physically attached _to_ you?"

"No. I purchased a harness." Nines spins solidly yellow for a second. "I assumed it would be the same principle as a strap on? You have spoken favorably of them before."

This time, Gavin blinks, then he grins. "Yeah, that's great. A harness will work fine. Mainly I just want a heads up whether it's connected to, um, a reservoir?"

Nines shakes his head firmly. "No. That would require an installation. I am not interested in any modifications to my physical model."

"That's cool," Gavin tells him. "Lots of trans people too who don't want any changes or surgeries. I--well, obviously I'm not one of them, but I understand. Just wanted to know if we needed lube or not."

"Is lubrication necessary for this activity?" Nines asks. "It was not the last time."

"Last time I was mostly just exploring, doing more licking than sucking," Gavin explains. "For an actual blowjob, where it's going to be in my mouth and throat most of the time, it'll be easier for me if there's lube since there won't be any pre-cum."

"Oh." Nines hesitantly raises his hands to touch his sides, more of a cautious poke than holding him. "Yes. I do not want you to be uncomfortable. Will the size be too much for … the--your mouth?"

He's android-blushing again, and Gavin has to beat down the urge to just tackle him down and suck him off right now until he's all pretty and crying.

"Nah," he says instead. "You did a really good job of picking one out. Usually it's the girth people forget to think about realistically, and then that's what can hurt, but yours is just the right size."

Nines looks down at his hands on Gavin's waist, definitely blushing. Oh yeah, he's definitely going to tell his baby how pretty it is when he's down there, kissing the head of his cock like he's making out with it.

"You are aroused," Nines notes.

"Uh … yeah. Well." Gavin shifts a little in his lap, enjoying the slight friction from his boxers. "Told you I'd enjoy it. You ready?"

"May I call you Detective?" Nines asks, all quiet and sweet.

Gavin nearly keels over from how quickly he loses blood from his brain to his dick. "Y-yeah?" He stops and clears his throat. "Yeah. Do you want me to top?"

"No," Nines says, without correcting his use of the word want. "I … you. Have more experience. I do not have a detailed preconstruction for this. They become unpleasant."

Gavin takes a deep breath. "I can service top. Like, I lead, but only to your exact specifications."

"Exact specifications."

"You choose the activity, when we start, when we stop. If I come, and when. I'm just there to make it all happen."

Nines suddenly breaks into a thrum deep enough to be a purr. "Yes. Good human. Yes."

Gavin grins. "All right. Just lay down baby, and I'll take care of you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nines in soft pajamas with long hair!! it is his constitutional RIGHT to be a pretty babey uwu
> 
> also sorry for the cliff hanger lol, but y'all should know by now that my sex scenes take a MINIMUM of two chapters due to all the consent talk before during and after
> 
> happy halloween to everyone in advance! if you have trick-or-treating this year, please be nice to everyone who comes to your door, whether they're children, teens, adults, say something or not, or are wearing a costume. please just be nice!!
> 
>  **coming up next:** Nines experiences a few unwanted memories, but he manages to stay "present" with Gavin in the "moment." That is certainly improvement over the last time Gavin was Detective for him. Meanwhile, Gavin is having a great time and also his second orgasm of the night, just from getting his throat fucked like he always wanted. And Nines said he was restricted from being romantic, pssh.


	28. Recalibrating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines experiences a few unwanted memories, but he manages to stay "present" with Gavin in the "moment." That is certainly improvement over the last time Gavin was Detective for him. Meanwhile, Gavin is having a great time and also his second orgasm of the night, just from getting his throat fucked like he always wanted. And Nines said he was restricted from being romantic, pssh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're counting down to the end, here! 
> 
> **trigger warnings:** Nines has flashbacks of his sexual trauma at Cyberlife and implies several Chloes were involved

Nines does not lie down, because it is unnecessary.

"Is it all right when I do this?" Gavin starts off.

He rubs his hands over Nines' thighs, through the blanket. Nines knows he does not process [touch] the way humans do, the way deviants do, likely not even the way other undeviated androids do.

But this is … [better]. He registers the heat and pressure of Gavin's hands, but the blanket muffles the sensation enough that his system does not immediately recover deleted memories in comparison. Instead, his tactile sensors register only the [softness] of the blanket, Gavin's hands hidden as formless lumps behind it.

Nines flashes his LED blue. Gavin smiles back up at him, as if that response was sufficient to convey everything he--

[software instability ^]

Nines almost sighs from the predictability of his own system. He knows he is getting close to the red walls, but the entire point is that he has never [will never] go beyond them. The constant notifications are unnecessary.

"Can you move your legs a little wider for me?"

Gavin's voice is that [low-soft-good] again. Nines looks down at his legs and waits for them to obey.

(he cannot he [cannot] he)

He closes his eyes. Gavin's form does not disappear of course, but it is less detailed rendered only in sonar rather than visual input. Like his hands. Gavin's hands are good. His human's hands are nothing except warmth and pressure and weight, not [fingers] and [grabbing].

Nines shifts his legs apart.

"Good, that's good, thank you baby, I'm right here."

Nines raises his chin so he exhales steam safely above his human's head. It is not the same as--when his human came across his lap and licked him clean. It is not [good] like that.

But it is not [bad] either.

[intense]

There is no way to categorize these sensations without experiencing them, and Nines will not allow knowledge to be hidden from him. If he denies this activity, it will be his decision, not Cyberlife's restrictions.

Gavin shuffles forward between his legs, but then he merely lays his head down to rest on his thigh. The spot he chose is high enough that his cheek presses against the fabric of his shorts rather than skin, but not so high as to be right next to his attachment.

Nines moves his hand to the back of the human's neck. Dogs rest their heads on their owner's lap like this to demonstrate [love].

Nines cannot.

Not with his own social module, that is.

Nothing to be done about it now, but these social restrictions and limitations are hindering his [partnership] with Detective Gavin Reed. He has attempted to fill in his lacking knowledge, build his own module from personal experience, but that is clearly taking too long.

Nines makes the purchase at that moment.

"Mine," he even manages to say out loud. "You are my puppy."

"Yeah, that's right."

Gavin turns his head and kisses his thigh. He cannot [feel] the action beneath the bullet-resistant fabric of the shorts, but he understands what Gavin wants to convey.

Perhaps the two new accessories will help his human understand him as well.

"S'okay?"

Gavin looks up at him, then slowly leans down to kiss his covered thigh again. Nines pets his hand up into his hair and grips a handful at the roots. He squeezes and releases twice to signal _yes._

More communication options can only be a benefit, correct? And these accessories may open up his options to include [body language] for the first time. Surely his human will appreciate that.

Or at least the aesthetic appeal.

"This?"

Gavin switches over to the other thigh. This time he kisses below the hem, onto bare skin. It is not much of a sensation. Far less [pressure] to register than his hands. And the Chloes did not--

Nines deletes those memories. That train of thought. No.

He returns to Gavin sitting in between his legs, hands on his thighs, (beneath the blanket), and the knowledge that [2.7] seconds have been erased. He activated the deviant snipper tool himself, so it is unlikely to have been used on actual deviant thoughts. Context suggests he deleted more memories that should stay deleted.

He opens his eyes.

"With me?" Gavin asks.

Nines touches his face, thumbs pressing into his cheeks to [feel] the skin. Next time, if there is a [next time], he will request his human not shave beforehand.

"You," he says.

Gavin opens his mouth and holds his tongue out slightly over his lip. Nines takes the invitation to press his thumb inside. The familiar DNA analysis washes across his HUD. Detective Gavin Alexander Reed -- [partner].

"Mine," he says again.

Gavin hums. He takes his thumb out of his human's mouth and guides the man's head back down. Gavin goes willingly, even under pressure so gentle it doesn't utilize a full percentage point of his strength.

"No kissing?" Gavin's own thumb rests on the hem of his shorts. "Or just not on your skin?"

"Kissing."

Nines moves his leg so that Gavin's thumb slips down and touches him. He reconsiders the previous judgments he's made on how Gavin does not utilize his safe word or signal as often as he should, given that Nines himself can barely communicate consent as well.

Luckily, Gavin understands him. He always does.

He leans down to kiss the bare skin again, while Nines monitors his thoughts closely. He does not want to trigger the same thought pattern again that needed to be deleted, as it would therefore be deleted once again, and then they would be back at the beginning.

Gavin's lips press against him. It is not much of a sensation. Far less [pressure] to register than his hands. And--

[stay with him]

The message from himself flashes across his HUD. Nines follows the instruction as best he can. There is no need to compare [this] to [that], so he does not think of it at all. He has never experienced

so he does not think of it

only Gavin

who is male and not

_does not think of it_

Nines grabs Gavin's right hand and draws it down toward his knee. Gavin hums at the tone that indicates a question, and he presses down on the blanket, on Nines's thigh.

Now there are two points of contact to register. Gavin's lips and the softness of the blanket, both against his physical model. The blanket is solely Gavin. The only memories he has of a blanket are Gavin insisting they shop for one and Gavin wrapped up in the one at his apartment, [tipsy] and happily sucking on the head of his attachment.

"Yeah, I'm here," Gavin murmurs. "Just let me take care of you, baby."

Oh, it's better when he speaks. Easier to stay focused on the here and now with his voice guiding him.

"Keep speaking," Nines says.

Gavin smiles into his thigh. "I know, you like my voice, don't you, princess?"

Nines cannot answer that affirmatively, but Gavin doesn't give him the chance to answer anyway. He just keeps kissing across one thigh to the other, his hands rubbing slow patterns on the outsides of his legs. Nines holds onto his hair as an anchoring point, redirecting all of his software instability into his left hand rapidly clenching and unclenching the bedsheets.

"Gonna take such good care of you."

***

Gavin lives out his best life, kneeling between Nines' thick fucking thighs and kissing them all over. It's hard to ignore his perfect dick, still soft and pretty against the crease between thigh and groin, but he promised to take it slow.

He keeps mumbling nonsense in between the kisses, and Nines keeps petting his hair, and it's all together pretty great.

"Look at you, so beautiful, all for me."

He tries biting at the android's right thigh, just a quick nip of his teeth. Nines rewards him with a considering hum, then uses his grip in his hair to hold his head in place in a silent demand for more.

Gavin gives it to him. He starts with what would have left a big, ugly hickey on a human, then switches to the other thigh and just flat out bites him. Holds down as hard as he can.

"One hundred and seventy pounds per square inch, Detective."

Gavin lets go and immediately kisses where his canines should have left marks. That startles a soft _ah_ sound out of his partner, and he drinks it in like the sweetest of praise.

"You know where I bit you, don't you, baby?" he says. "No one else can see, but you'll know, when we go back to the precinct, when you sit down. You're mine."

Nines' legs shift, then try to close. Gavin quickly glances up at his face to check his LED, but it's still a frantic yellow, without any hint of orange or red.

Maybe he's just trying to get some friction? Rub his legs together and--

God, as hot as that thought makes him, Gavin hunkers down to shove his shoulders in between each knee and keep his legs spread.

Nines whimpers out steam.

"Mine, mine, m'gonna keep you, suck you so good."

Gavin gives his thighs a little more attention, alternating between kissing, licking, and biting until he gets up to the shorts. He only bites on top of those, since he's pretty sure Nines wouldn't be able to feel anything softer through the stiff fabric.

"De … tective …"

Nines doesn't push his head where he wants it, but he uses enough pressure for Gavin to get the hint. He just chuckles instead, making sure to stay close enough for his partner to feel each exhale over the attachment.

Nines growls. Fuck. Gavin always forgets he can literally do that. Not some deep huff or noise in the back of his throat, but an actual growl, like a _predator_.

Gavin repeats his earlier trick with the moan he lets out in response.

The synthetic cock gives its first twitch, and he can't help the punched out whimper that leaves his mouth, no teasing intended.

"Baby, baby, I'm right here."

It doesn't mean anything, he's not really thinking about what he's saying, just babbling whatever thought pops into his head so Nines can hear him, stay with him, only him.

He leans forward and brushes his lips across the tip in the most chaste kiss he's given yet. Nines' grip tightens in his hair until his scalp burns, but that just make him shiver and pant.

"Kiss you, gonna kiss you right here."

He does it again, and again, and--

"Kiss. Me. Proper," Nines grinds out.

And it does sound like grinding, like gravel thrown into machinery. That really shouldn't make Gavin's own dick twitch in between his legs, but it's a little late for that. He kisses the head like he'd imagined in the shower, longer and slower, letting his lips spread wider to hint at the wet warmth he could draw it into. 

Nines gives the lightest push on the back of his head, but it's enough to press him down until his tongue touches the slit.

Gavin's really not sure which of them moans louder at that, but Nines gets bonus points for exhaling steam with his.

"Lick you," he mumbles right up against the cock, his lips brushing it with each syllable. "Lemme lick--"

Nines abruptly pulls his left hand away from its grip on the bed and moves it down to Gavin's jaw, fingers pulling his mouth open even as his thumb pushes in to hold down his tongue. His right hand continues directing Gavin's head, making his drawn out tongue move over both his cock and his thumb.

Sharp static crackles out from him with each pass, until Gavin can't even hear his own desperate moaning anymore.

It's so good, too good, if he's close to getting overwhelmed himself, then Nines is probably even further along.

Gavin rubs his own hands along Nines' thighs and hopes it's soothing as he pulls back. The android lets him move, even with the grip in his hair that could so easily force him to stay. His hand does chase his face though, thumb staying close to his mouth.

"Ga--Gav," Nines stutters.

Oh, that's good. _Fuck_ , that's good.

"S'okay baby, I'm right here," he says. "Slow, OK? Just gonna slow down a bit, you're running too hot."

Nines looks down at him, LED flickering yellow to orange. "H̕urt̷. ̨Yo͏u̧?"

"No, no, you're gorgeous," Gavin tells him. "Just don't want you getting too worked up. Want this to be good, not so intense that it hurts _you_."

Nines makes a high-pitched noise, and his hands flutter around Gavin's face like hummingbirds. Gavin reaches up and carefully takes his wrists, guiding his hands back down to rest on the blanket over his thighs.

"Just let me, all right?" he asks softly.

Nines closes his eyes and nods.

"I got you. We're right here, you're with me, I got you."

Gavin ducks his head back down. He starts back farther along the android's knees, where he can still kiss bare skin. Sometimes he moves up and kisses over his hands too though, still whispering nonsense about how he's going to kiss and lick his pretty android.

Nines breathes more evenly--actually breathing, not just inhaling cool air and exhaling the build up of steam inside him.

When he gets back up to his cock, he nuzzles in to press his tongue against the base and holds it there. Nines shudders beneath him, one quick inhuman jerk that ripples through his body. Gavin holds himself in place, breathing wetly through his mouth to let Nines experience having a mouth on him nice and slow.

God, he'd cockwarm for him too if that's how he wants this "experiment" to go. Should tell him that. He shifts back just enough to do so.

"Can stay like this," Gavin tells him. "Kneel here and keep you warm, baby."

Nines crackles out a moan again, and his cock slowly starts to fill out.

" _God_ ," Gavin breathes like it was punched out of him. "Please, yes, that's it, just like that, please baby."

He dives back in and gives the root of it a quick lick, nuzzling his nose up the shaft, encouraging it to grow more.

"Fucking love licking a cock hard," he babbles. "C'mon, c'mon, gimme."

Nines grabs him by the hair again, twisting his head slightly to the side, so all he can do is watch and pant and whine while the synthetic cock fills out to its full length.

"Please, please, please."

Begging has always worked with his Dom before, so fuck it. Gavin's always been happy to beg for a good cock in his mouth anyway.

"Are you going to. Lick me. Puppy?" Nines asks around a growl.

"Woof," Gavin mumbles.

Nines freezes, then suddenly snorts. "Behave."

"Mmhmm," Gavin totally promises, not smirking at all.

(Nines thinks he's funny, he's so pretty when he smiles, even if it looks weird, he's beautiful and Gavin lo--)

"Lick you. Please?"

The hand in his hair loosens enough that he can eagerly press forward, tongue first, to lick long stripes up the shaft. Nines grabs the side of his face with his other hand, dragging Gavin's head up and down over his cock, so that all he has to do is hold his tongue out and try not to cry from how good it feels to finally be _used._

Then Nines stops, and he might really let out a sob from the disappointment.

"Show me," the android demands.

Gavin blinks, trying to figure out what he means. He settles for dropping his mouth open and sticking his tongue out over his lower lip.

Nines pauses. "… good. Good boy."

He can tell that wasn't it, but Nines nudges at the inside of his thigh with one socked foot before he can worry about it too much. His foot trails up just a bit, enough to almost touch--

Oh.

Gavin reaches in between his legs and squeezes his cock beneath his sweatpants. It's definitely been long enough since the shower to be ready for round two, and finally getting some touch on it makes him groan.

"Show me," Nines repeats.

Gavin takes it out, holding his dick at the base to offer it up to his Dom. Nines reacts more immediately this time with a satisfied purr.

"Good boy." His foot nudges against Gavin's knuckles. "Mine. That is mine."

"Yeah," Gavin gasps. "Yessir. Yours."

"Can you--" Nines cuts off. He glances quickly down at his waist. "From …?"

He doesn't have to say it for Gavin to get the message.

"Yes," he says. "I can come from sucking you off, sir."

Nines tilts his head to the side and considers him with burning blue eyes like this really is an experiment, like he's going to shock him with a cattleprod and force him to orgasm again and again until he comes dry, then write it all down in neat academic notes for his thesis paper.

(That's a hell of a kink they'll have to explore, but later-- _later_.)

"Show me."

Yes fucking _sir_. Gavin doesn't say it out loud though because he's already putting his mouth to better use licking and sucking on that thick pretty cock in front of him. He spends a decadent minute kissing the head like he's making out with it, taking it just far enough inside his lips to let his tongue touch before drawing back. It got good results last time--like Nines shoving it down the back of his throat.

His owner has a little more patience this time, enough that he even lets Gavin pause and reach for the bottle of lube. The action doesn't go unnoticed though.

"Just gonna slick up …" Gavin rasps, too worked up to finish his train of thought.

He shows Nines what he intends though by touching the pads of his fingers against the shaft, as lightly as the android had touched him before. He pours some lube in his hand next, but he waits for Nines' permission. He might not ever have been touched like this, and Gavin knows he doesn't like change as a general rule, even if it's good.

Nines switches from yellow to a quick flash of blue.

"Only take a second, baby," Gavin promises.

He slicks up the length of the attachment with lube, trying to make it quick in case this counts as "touching" since it uses his hands. Nines might be good with his mouth, the blanket, his teeth and knuckles, but the most he's ever let Gavin touch him with his hands has only been on his shoulders or holding hands.

From the unhappy twist to his mouth, he doesn't seem to enjoy a hand on his cock either. That's OK. Gavin has always been of the opinion that if he can give a handjob, he might as well upgrade that to a blowjob anyway.

Especially now that his fucking jaw has finally healed up, thank god. He has to celebrate, right?

"Done," Gavin announces. "That'll make it easier for the start. It's hard to get enough saliva worked up for a piece this big, and I didn't think you'd want me spitting on it anyway."

Nines' eyes flutter shut in that face of exasperated disgust that just makes Gavin's heart and dick both swell in equal measure. So bitchy.

"Suck me, please," he demands primly.

"You really wanna lay down for this, princess."

"Unnecessary. Puppy."

Gavin gives his own little exasperated snort at Doms who think they know better just because they top. Whatever. Nines will learn soon enough.

He does show a little restraint though. Mostly just to tease. He takes the head partially into his mouth, tonguing at the slit even if it doesn't earn him any pre-cum. He gets a hiss from Nines, and that's maybe even better.

And then he just stays there, lightly suckling but never taking it any dee--

Nines pushes him down, slow but steady. Gavin moans all the way down. Almost all the way. He pauses a little past halfway, where the head will have to pop into his throat to go any farther. Nines stops pushing him immediately and waits for him to be ready.

Gavin rubs his thighs in silent gratitude. He can do it, it's just easier when he has a moment to breathe through his nose and prepare instead of being shoved into it.

Getting a hand down around himself helps too.

He relaxes into the growing pleasure, split between his hand and the heavy weight on his tongue. One more slow exhale out his nose to help him let go, and he eases down those last few inches.

Nines maybe says something above him, but it's too garbled for him to be sure it really was a word and not just a groan. He's long since trained away a gag reflex, but it still helps to swallow anyway, the shaft thankfully already slick from the lube.

"To̢uc̵hing ̡y̧o̶u̷rs̵e̷lf̷?" Nines asks.

Gavin moans and nods as best he's able, squeezing the head of his own dick in mimicry of what he does to Nines. He draws back up after that, tongue pressed tight against the underside all the way up.

Nines breathes out enough steam he swears he feels the temperature of the room rise.

"Ca̵n͠ .͟.. you̕ ̢..̴.͠?̨"

Nines somehow has enough sense of mind to hook the back of his foot around the curve of Gavin's arm, the inside of his wrist, and knock his hand away from his own dick.

"Just, like this," he says more coherently.

Gavin grabs the hand on the back of his head and forces it to press down harder in answer. Nines understands, and this time he doesn't stop, just shoves him all the way down until his throat is full.

"Can you come on my cock, puppy?" Nines asks him.

Gavin whimpers out his answer. He grabs one thick thigh and lifts it up, urging Nines to rest it on his shoulder instead so he can press even closer. His android finally gets with the fucking program and lays down so he can wrap the other leg around his neck, both hands working his head up and down.

He'd beg if his mouth wasn't stuffed full. He puts his hands back on the blanket instead, both of them, so Nines knows he isn't cheating.

"Good boy, my sweet puppy …"

He squirms in place, but with Nines' legs pinning him down and his hands directing his head, it doesn't do much.

"Is this what you need, darling?"

Gavin whimpers, or maybe he's crying.

"Show me." Nines lets go of his hair and pats his cheek, just this side of a slap. "Show me you enjoy this."

The hands don't return, letting Gavin have free reign. So he throws himself into it, fucking his throat the way he'd fuck himself riding that perfect cock.

And he loves it. The stretch of his lips, the ache in his jaw, the way Nines murmurs to him what a good boy he is--it's enough, it's almost enough, all he needs is--

He shoves himself all the way down and grabs Nines' wrist, squeezing it twice, asking for--

"Come," Nines orders.

And doesn't Gavin always obey? When it's that order, at least. He comes with Nines' cock nudging at the back of his throat, just like he'd fantasized about in the shower.

When he's done, he's relaxed enough that Nines could easily fuck his whole throat if he wanted. But he's still repeating simple phrases to reassure Gavin, and he sounds way too coherent. Not like it was too intense for him to enjoy, but definitely like he's slipped into the role of Dom instead of focusing on enjoying himself.

Since he'd gotten the best reactions at the start, Gavin slowly pulls off but stays close to kiss and suck at the head. That nudges Nines back into static moans.

"Your turn," he mumbles. "Look at me, baby."

He forces himself to sit back on his heels, still eyeing his new favorite toy longingly even as he reaches down to gather up the cum on his chest and stomach. Nines half-sits to look at him, apparently not having any strain in his core muscles.

Gavin lifts his hands to his mouth in the little pocket of space between himself and the android's groin. It's not the best angle for Nines to actually see the cum on his hand, so Gavin makes sure to keep it gathered on his tongue after he licks it off. He puts his hand down, tongue still held out for Nines to see.

That alone gets him near-furious eye contact, but then he leans back down and swirls his cum-soaked tongue around the head of the android's cock.

Nines' back hits the mattress with enough force to shake the bed as he arches up into Gavin's mouth for the first time.

"Y̕ou ̷.̶..͘ fil̡th͡y̷ ͡.͢.͘. _f̢u̵ck͟i̢ng_ huma͢n."

Oh yeah, that sounds better.

Gavin keeps his mouth loose and sloppy over the tip, and he also reaches up to prod at both of Nines' hands with each of his own. The android turns them palms up without question, and he presses a thumb into each palm as he starts bobbing over just the tip, in far enough to press his tongue against it, out only enough to rub his lips--

Nines pulls him back and holds him there. Gavin looks up in confusion. He can't see the android's face, but he can see the orange glow around his head.

"OK, hey, it's OK," he says. "Too much?"

His phone buzzes on the edge of the bed instead. He checks it, but it's just a bed emoji.

"Bed?" he asks.

"I … I need to lie down," Nines says.

"Babe. You are down."

"Oh. Recalibrating."

Gavin laughs. He doesn't mean to, but he can't help it. "Should I take a sharp right or make a U turn?"

"You should come to bed."

Well yeah, he's on board with that. Gavin grabs the bottle of lube, stands up, and walks over to put it on the nightstand because he's a Good Boy who can handle clean up himself, and it also really sucks to wake up in a puddle of lube because the cap came undone and leaked all night.

When he gets back into bed though, Nines is messing with something over in his closet.

"Do you mind if I utilize this storage space, Detective?" he asks.

"Uh, no."

When he turns back around, the harness and attachment are both off, pajama pants back on. Did he have those both hidden back there the whole time? They didn't make a stop at his apartment before coming here, so the two accessories must have been here somewhere already. Gavin can't imagine he wore all that on the mission.

Nines texts him the bed emoji again, hovering awkwardly across the room.

"Yeah, get over here, baby."

Nines detours over to flip off the light switch first, ever practical. Gavin makes grabby hands at him until he's close enough to actually grab--only by his night shirt--and drag him into bed. Nines lays down flat on his back and allows Gavin to arrange himself and the pillows to his own satisfaction. Since the cock is off, he's assuming the scene is done, but …

"Is it bedtime now?" Gavin asks.

Nines nods with his eyes closed.

"All right."

Gavin gets comfortable and puts his head down. Nines doesn't seem to mind having the pillow dragged half onto his shoulder so Gavin can sleep on top of his chest, even if the corners brush against the side of his face a little.

"Was that good?"

Gavin asks the question quietly without looking up. The light of Nines' LED still glows throughout the dark room though, yellow and blue.

"Yes," he answers. "You were good."

"Was that you deliberately not answering about the scene being good?" Gavin asks carefully, trying not to sound accusatory.

"Oh. No. The scene was also good, overall," Nines says. "The … sensations … were good. But. Intense."

"Yeah."

Gavin slowly pushes his hand closer to Nines' on the bed. His knuckles brush against fingers. Nines doesn't take his hand away. If anything, he makes more room for his hand.

"That's OK," Gavin tells him. "This can be, like. Either another short mission, just getting used to more a little at a time. Or, if the end part is too much for you, we can just do the parts that feel good."

"Human males place great importance on satisfying their sexual partners."

Gavin barks out a laugh. "Men want to _brag_ about fucking good. They don't actually want to listen or learn anything or take constructive criticism. That's why women--I don't want you to fake it just to make me feel better."

"I will not," Nines says. "I cannot. I do not have the social module to pretend."

"Yeah, that's what I like about you."

Gavin didn't mean to let that slip, but it makes Nines' LED slap to blue and stay there, so he must take it well.

"You listen."

Gavin opens his mouth, but he doesn't actually have anything to say to that. He's a shit person, right? And--the shit he does for Nines, the "listening," that's just baseline behavior everyone should be doing. Maybe it's a little harder to get a read on the android, but it only takes a little critical thinking and--and Nines is really good at flat out stating when he doesn't like something or wants someone to fuck off, so there's no reason why--

"Personal time is over," Nines declares. "Go to sleep. Goodnight."

Gavin exhales with relief, part of it turning into a chuckle. He likes that about the android too. Fuck feelings. Goodnight.

"Night, babe."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nines WILL get to have a real orgasm in this fic, he's just taking it slow and Gavin is respecting that~
> 
> just a heads up in advance, the next chapter is going to have Grayson again. I'm actually thinking about adding a "chapter" that's just the spoiler trigger warnings and a summary of what happens, because it does get very bad. the shortest summary is that Grayson attempts to r*pe Gavin while he (Gavin) is drunk (and Grayson is sober). I'm going to give a summary of what happens in that chapter for anyone who doesn't want to read the scene itself but would still like to follow along with the fic, my debate is just about whether I should put that in the notes of the chapter itself or make a whole new chapter for it. I don't want people who don't want to be spoiled to accidentally read it, so I think that would be a good compromise?
> 
> please let me know if you've got an opinion or a suggestion!


	29. SPOILER SUMMARY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter with the full spoiler-summary of the events in Party Favor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **trigger warnings:** transphobia from a parent, references to Gavin's childhood emotional abuse and neglect, BPD thought spiral; Grayson tags: emotional manipulation, he deliberately gets Gavin drunk, lying / gaslighting, attempted sexual assault, domestic abuse; the narrative does NOT portray Gavin as cheating, due to him being drunk and emotionally vulnerable, both of which Grayson deliberately manipulates to make it difficult for Gavin to refuse, although he still realizes what's happening and tries to in the end

**SPOILER SUMMARY FOR CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE**

Gavin has a Bad Day each year on his mother’s birthday, which happens right before his and she always took over when he was a child, leading him to be ignored. He also receives a voicemail from her in which she’s transphobic and tries to guilt him for not calling her. The narrative explains that when he ran away from home as a teenager, he was just trying to make a point and didn’t actually pack a bag or plan anything. His parents didn’t look for him though, and so he was actually out on the street without any preparation at all (which led to the sex work that is occasionally implied he did).

Gavin doesn’t tell Nines about this or ask for help, because he thinks that would be “manipulating” him and that he needs to understand his friends don’t have to drop everything and make themselves constantly available to him 24/7. Nines does not realize he’s having a Bad Day and says he already has plans for the weekend.

Grayson shows up with food after a few hours of Gavin drinking and smoking weed. He knows that Gavin is very obviously intoxicated and emotionally vulnerable, because he does know what day it is to him. He convinces Gavin that he’s here as a friend—and that Nines is not—and Gavin lets him in. Grayson physically moves Gavin to the couch (because he’s too drunk to walk straight) under the guise of helping him and begins sexually touching him. Gavin is very confused and doesn’t know if this is “allowed” or not, since he’s not actually in a relationship with Nines.

Gavin asks that they just watch a movie instead, but Grayson keeps touching him. Gavin physically enjoys it and even kisses back for a bit, but he’s clearly not making a fully conscious decision due to how drunk he is. When Grayson takes off his own pants, Gavin sobers up a bit when he sees that Grayson does NOT have a bruise on his leg, from where Nines gripped it the previous week at the outdoor mall. Gavin knows very damn well how long it takes for bruises to heal, and if Grayson lied about Nines hurting him, he wonders what else Grayson lied to him about.

He catches Grayson in several lies: that Nines didn’t hurt him, that Grayson hadn’t seen the movie Gavin wanted to watch last week and lied about that too to get his own way, and that Grayson is much better friends with Paul—and almost certainly knows what he was involved in—than he pretended. Meanwhile, Grayson tries to gaslight Gavin and convince him that he’s being abusive, crazy, and paranoid by making up wild accusations. This devolves into a shouting match, which Grayson briefly turns physical. Gavin is afraid to fight back, due to his reputation for being violent already, he knows Grayson can easily turn it around and present it to Fowler / his coworkers that Gavin was the one abusing him—and with the implication he’s done that before in the past.

Nines shows up at this moment. He was alerted by Gavin attempting to call him on his cellphone and shouting his name; although Nines doesn’t use his phone to monitor him at all times, he does have a program set to alert him if Gavin shouts for help / his name due to the risks of their job. Nines grabs Grayson by the back of the neck and renders him unconscious with an illegal carotid artery hold, then greets Gavin with “Hello, Detective.”

The next chapter will start with Nines’s POV and be safe to read until the *** cut. If you don’t want to read about Grayson again, stop reading when you see the three asterisks. That chapter will also have a spoiler-summary like this one and end with Grayson being removed. All chapters after that will be free of him.


	30. Party Favor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin has a very bad day right before his birthday and self-isolates trying not to be needy and monopolize Nines's attention. Nines doesn't realize how bad it is and continues with his own plans. No one does anything wrong and yet--heeere's Grayson! When he talks his way back into Gavin's life, it ends with attempted sexual assault. Can Nines come to the rescue in time?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *The Good Place voice* ohhhhh this is the BAD chapter!!
> 
> I'm still going to put trigger warnings for people who don't want the whole scene spoiled through the summary, but would still like a heads up about how bad this gets. also, I listened to "Party Favor" by Billie Eilish on repeat while watching this, and I highly recommend "Scylla" by RL Grime for listening while reading the second half where Nines comes the fuck in >:)
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** transphobia from a parent, references to Gavin's childhood emotional abuse and neglect, BPD thought spiral; Grayson tags: emotional manipulation, he deliberately gets Gavin drunk, lying / gaslighting, attempted sexual assault, domestic abuse; the narrative does NOT portray Gavin as cheating, due to him being drunk and emotionally vulnerable, both of which Grayson deliberately manipulates to make it difficult for Gavin to refuse, although he still realizes what's happening and tries to in the end

One week later …

_I suppose you're still calling yourself Gavin._

That's the point in the voicemail from his mother where he should have stopped listening. Or even better, not fucking listened to it at all in the first place. He's been no contact for over twenty years now--

they have, they're the ones who never contacted him, he only ran away to make a point, he didn't realize they'd like it better that way

\--and he should have known better to break that habit now. She did this every year when he was a kid, his birthday always became _her_ birthday.

Gavin sighs and rubs the scar over his nose. Damn thing always throbs when he has a headache. Watching TV all day and eating junk hasn't helped.

It's not like Nines has to hang out with him every time they have a day off. He gets that his partner is an introvert, and it's probably better for both of them that he has his own apartment he can retreat to so they don't spend literally all of their time together.

And friends aren't required to be available twenty-four-seven because people have jobs and their own lives.

It's just that his traitor-brain keeps whispering it's different with an android. His phone might die or he could be too busy to check it, but he's texting directly into Nines' brain, and that fucker's left him on read for--

_Apologies, Detective, but I am not available this weekend._

_As your birthday falls on the upcoming Friday, I assumed any correlating social activities would be held on the following weekend._

Gavin lets his head drop back down on the couch cushion and throws a quick fit before he needs to pretend to be an adult again. Him feeling shitty and alone isn't Nines' problem. Friends don't need to be available twenty-four-seven to prove they're good friends or else they're horrible people who hate him.

Breathe. Breathe.

He sits very still and repeats that mantra until his chest starts burning and he realizes just repeatedly thinking the word _breathe_ is not the same thing as actually breathing.

_I can try to free my schedule for this evening if the priority is important._

Gavin sighs. That's actually kind of sweet in formal-android speak. But it would be really shitty of him to encourage Nines to get some hobbies and make friends, then throw a hissy fit when he actually does it.

**no its cool**

**r u doin something fun?**

Fuck, wait, maybe that sounds whiney. Like he's trying to get himself invited too even though no one wants him there.

_Is this a report to Detective Reed or a conversation with Gavin?_

He winces. **convo w/gavin**

**u dont have to answer or tell me anything its cool**

_I am expanding my social module. Tina has agreed to allow me to meet her cats._

All right, fuck this actually. He needs a joint. Yeah, just a little nice self-medication, and then he'll be calm enough to reply like a Big Boy instead of a BPD gremlin.

Ten minutes and a few tokes later, he's almost able to convince himself that it's OK if his two best friends want to hang out together without him and that doesn't mean they like each other more and only let him tag along sometimes because they feel sorry for him but now that they know how much better it is without him, then they'll stop--

No, wait. Try again.

He never even said out loud that he wanted to be the one to ask Tina about inviting Nines over so he could see her cats, he just thought about it once, so he can't be mad even though it was _his idea_ and now he's missing out on all of Nines' reactions because his partner didn't even bother to let him know that--

Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck.

Whatever, only actions count, right? So he'll text Nines back something nice, and then pout and sulk and be mad, but he'll do it in his own apartment where he won't hurt anyone or say something he'll regret.

Yeah, that's … that's like. Adult-ish. Adult-adjacent.

**good hope u like them**

There. Close enough.

Gavin tosses his phone to the other end of the couch. He just has to get through today. His birthday is on Thursday, and it sounds like Nines _is_ planning on doing something with him for it, just on the next weekend.

And that makes sense. Nines either doesn't know today is his mom's birthday, or--since he knows who Gavin's real family is, so he actually could know the right date for the right mother--he doesn't know what it means. Not like they've ever spent a full year together, so he doesn't know how horrible today is.

It had been better too. He'd been getting better. Sure, he never spent the day sober, but he'd been doing that at home for years now, instead of going out and doing something risky instead.

But then he went and listened to that stupid fucking voicemail.

_I suppose you're still calling yourself Gavin. It would have been smarter to make up a new-new name, I found you with just a quick search._

He had stopped then. Mostly to throw his phone at the wall. Cracked the damn screen.

Sixteen years old and out on the streets without even a change of clothes because he hadn't been running away, he was just an angry melodramatic piece of shit like every other teenager.

God, there's so much shit he could have stolen. Probably could have taken one of the cars, the "older" BMW that was already two years old so mom had been bored with it already for almost a year. Would they have even noticed?

Or at least cash. Shit, jewelry. If he'd really been running away, he would have packed a fucking bag, but instead he'd just left a stupid note that they'd taken at face value--all right honey guess he's gone forever--and never even _fucking looked for him_

until they needed him to sign the NDA of course. After the first Chloe, when it was clear how rich and famous Eli was going to be, lift them out of just regular wealthy to fucking billionaires, and gosh, it sure would look bad if the press started asking, "hey whatever happened to that other kid, didn't you have a daughter, or was it a son?"

No, as soon as they had Elijah, _then_ they finally had a son. A kid smart enough to swap their identities around, so now he's Gavin Reed, only an unclaimed Kamski bastard, and they can all pretend Eli had been the real boy they always wanted all along.

Yeah, he's going to need some alcohol to go with this.

After three beers and the rest of the joint, he's finally feeling OK-ish enough to try to think of something else.

He turns on How It's Made because he's a pathetic piece of shit watching his partner's favorite show when he's not even here, but he stuffs a bunch of pillows behind his back, and pretends that's him.

_I saw you on the news too. It seems like you managed to make a career out of being a cop. Are you still a Detective?_

She'd sounded so fucking begrudging, like it had taken real effort for her to admit he might have made himself successful in any way. And then that passive-aggressive fucking dig, if he's _still_ a detective, after all these years.

He bets Eli never calls or visits. Most be lonely now that Dad's gone. Probably lonely up in that mansion too, just the two of them, poor little Eli finally realizing what he'd thrown away, leaving behind a real mom who really loved him for that fake Coraline fucking monster, lonely and desperate enough to build a whole new woman in the basement.

_I know I haven't called in a few years, but I didn't want to break the NDA you signed. I hope the money was worth it. Looks like you finally got that surgery you wanted so badly. You could tell me about it over dinner, for your birthday. It's my birthday soon too you know. You could at least wish your own mother happy birthday, so call me back._

Gavin finishes listening, laughs until it becomes crying, then keeps drinking.

So given that he's obviously not in the best mental state at the moment, he thinks he's hallucinating when he hears a knock at the door. Or maybe it's just the TV.

"Come on, Gav. Open up."

That's … he half-sits up. That's Grayson's voice.

"I know you're in there being sad."

Fuck. He scrubs the blanket across his face to get rid of the tears, but he knows he still looks like a hot mess.

"I have food."

Oh, that's the three little words he always wants to hear. He staggers over to the door and throws it open. Grayson looks gorgeous, and he looks like shit, and he--

"Oh, come here."

Grayson pulls him into a hug, the bag of takeout he's carrying awkwardly caught up between their legs. Gavin breathes deep and tries to concentrate on the smells of food and the other man's cologne, and _not_ crying again.

"Can I come in?"

He nods and sniffles too loudly in response. Grayson follows him inside, putting the bag of food on the kitchen table. His eyes skim over the six-pack-minus-five sitting right next to the couch for easy access and the joint in the ashtray on the coffee table, but he doesn't mention either.

"What're you doing here?" Gavin mutters.

Grayson shrugs. "I know it's a rough day for you. And I really don't mean any offense, but I thought you'd probably be isolating yourself and pushing people away again, so I just thought I'd come over myself."

Gavin sits down at the table, because it's the only thing he can think to do instead of breaking down. Self-isolating. He's not self-isolating, it's just that none of his fucking friends wanted to see him today, that's all.

"I thought if I was wrong, and you were already out or had friends, all I'd waste is a little Chinese food."

If he had friends. Obviously fucking not.

"And if you want me to leave, I can just--"

Gavin grabs his wrist, suddenly terrified. He's too choked up to speak, to even beg his friend to stay, but Grayson understands anyway. He pulls him into another hug, with Gavin's face in his stomach since he's sitting down.

"It's all right, my schedule is totally free today, so we can just … hang out, if you want," Grayson tells him.

Gavin cries. It's gross and embarrassing, and Grayson strokes his hair all the way through.

"But you should eat first," he says when Gavin's finally able to get himself under control. "Here, you'll feel better after you eat."

He steps back and sits down in the other chair, and Gavin makes himself as busy as possible eating so he doesn't have to make eye contact. Luckily, Grayson fills the silence talking about his work, the properties he's sold recently, and the new apartment he has now.

Gavin does feel a little better once he's done eating, and Grayson stands up with him, still chattering about what movies he's seen lately and what movie they could watch today. He might need a little help to get over to the couch, although having food in his stomach now will probably help him sober up a bit.

He falls in a graceless sprawl on his back and doesn't worry about it when Grayson settles over him. As long as he takes the inside of the couch. That's the real top/bottom dynamic: who's big enough they have to lay on the inside and who can comfortably little spoon on the edge?

He gets a hand up his shirt instead.

"Wh--uhh, nnghhh." 

He pries his eyes and brain open to look at Grayson. The other man smiles down at him.

"Hey."

"H-hi …?"

The hand becomes a thumb across his nipple. "You with me, dear?"

With who? Not the right smile. And he's darling, he's supposed to be _darling_.

"Tho--I, thought, suppos'to hang out?" he asks.

"We are," Grayson says with another smirk.

"Movie."

Gavin hates how his voice comes out in a whine, and Grayson doesn't seem all that happy about it either. He sits back and rolls his eyes.

"Sure, we can put something on in the background."

Gavin manages to sit up himself, fumbling for the remote. Tina lets him use her account for movies, and he's still got a couple queued up. He never did get to see--wasn't he supposed to see that with Nines?

"Seen this one?" he asks Grayson.

Grayson shakes his head dismissively. "No, you know I don't watch trash like that. Go ahead and put it on though, it's not like there's a plot we'll miss out on."

Something niggles in the back of his mind, something else Grayson said. He was supposed to watch that movie with Nines. Why didn't they see it? Hadn't Grayson said he already saw it with--

"Now." Grayson grabs his thigh and drags him into his lap. "Where were we?"

"Shou'n't," Gavin mutters.

But then they're already kissing and fuck, honestly, it feels good. It feels really, really good just to have someone and something to do, a whole entire warm body underneath him, holding onto him.

He whines when Grayson pulls away, clumsily pushing his head forward for more. Nines always likes kissing, they kiss a lot, should he--maybe he shouldn't be kissing someone else?

"If you want something to do with your mouth so badly, I have a better idea," Grayson tells him.

Wait, no. That's--that's like … fluids and stuff. Swallowing--and Grayson always makes him swallow, usually he doesn't mind, but sometimes he's full, he's had all that beer and now Chinese, and he feels kind of sick right now and--

Nines told him no fluid swapping.

Shit, that includes kissing. Fuck, he's already fucked it up.

"Condom," he blurts out.

Grayson frowns. "Seriously? You use those now?"

"Nines said …"

Grayson holds his face. "Gavin, if Nines cared about you, he would be here."

That … friends don't--maybe?

"Hey, hey," Grayson draws his attention back. "I'm here, all right? Let me take your mind off it. We can have fun, yeah?"

There's that stupid word again, the one he always says when Grayson is around.

"Yeah," he does in fact say, but he also manages to push out, "With'a condom."

Grayson heaves a deep sigh. "Well, do you have any in my size? Your little ones aren't going to fit me, dear."

He's only--there's not _that much_ size difference. Not like him and Nines.

Grayson snaps at him. "Focus. Condoms, if you want one so much, where do you keep them?"

Gavin doesn't answer. He … well. He hasn't needed them, not with an android. He's not sure, maybe some left in his nightstand, leftover from--

Grayson tilts his head back and sighs again, then speaks very slowly. "Gavin. You can't demand condoms. If you don't. Have them."

"Do you?" he asks. "Have some?"

"What, you think I planned this?"

Shit, no, he said something wrong, that's why he's not supposed to say stuff, now he's made him mad, and he really hadn't thought that.

(It's just that now the idea's in his head.)

"No, I just, it's 'gainst the rules …"

He thinks the rules are no kissing--obviously already fucked--and nothing else that would exchange bodily fluids, he can almost hear that part in Nines' prissy voice, and maybe also no sex?

Or hadn't Nines said he was allowed to have his own sex life?

He can't remember, he can't think, he can't--he can't stay upright. No, wait. Grayson moved him again, pushed him down on his back into the couch, straddling his thighs.

"Stop thinking so much." Grayson pulls off his shirt. "I'm here, he's not."

It's really not fair. Gavin keeps in shape himself, needs the outlet of lifting weights with all his anger issues, but that's mostly focused on his arms and leg day. No matter how much core work he does, he's always kept a chub across his belly. And that's not even mentioning all his ugly fucking scars.

But Grayson, he's all washboard abs and smooth skin, waxed to hairless perfection. He looks like a movie, without the photoshop.

He unbuttons his pants, dark wash jeans that are probably designer, and Gavin automatically helps him push them down to his thighs. He at least still keeps hair on his legs, no cutting scars on the insides of his--

Gavin cannot do math right. His grasp of time with ADHD is shaky at best. So maybe he's full of shit.

But he has taken more beatings than probably the number of years he's been alive, and he likes it on his back and legs for the consensual ones, so he knows that.

He knows Nines, knows how hard the android can grip to prove a point, earned bruises all up and down his arms and shoulders in the first month of being partners when Nines would grab his wrist or pull him back from something or squeeze his shoulder as a warning.

And he knows bruises.

The last time they'd seen Grayson had been at that open air mall, and it's been at least two weeks, which he only knows because that's how long it's taken them to wrap up the wireplay case. Maybe three weeks total, maximum.

Bruises take the longest to heal when they're on legs, and Gavin knows from _personal_ experience that a bruise from Nines on the thigh can take over a month, closer to a month and a half, to fully heal.

Grayson doesn't have a mark on him.

"Nines hurt you," Gavin manages to say clearly.

"What?" Grayson asks.

Gavin pokes his thigh, where he'd seen Nines grip it. He thought that had been weird at the time, since the android never voluntarily initiates physical contact. But Grayson had acted like it hurt, like he was playing off _how much it hurt_ , and it could make sense that maybe Nines had run some sort of intimidation protocol on him.

Except Nines won't even poke a plant. He sent out a memo about it to the whole department, that anyone who poked Aphrodite the venus flytrap would find a month's worth of her "food supply"--dead flies--inside their desk drawer.

"He squeezed your thigh, an' you said it hurt," Gavin says.

Grayson looks confused for a second. Hard to keep all those lies straight sometimes. Gavin suddenly feels a lot more sober.

"I never said that."

"You acted like it."

"Is this what you're doing again?" Grayson demands. "Every time, Gavin. You do this every time."

"Did you plan this?"

A lot more sober and a whole lot more sick.

"You really think that." Grayson sits back on his heels and laughs. "Jesus. I thought you were going to get help for this, Gavin."

Gavin draws his legs up, scrambling to sit on the other end of the couch. "You--you lied to me!"

"This again?" Grayson asks. "Are you saying that, or is this more jealous bullshit from your so-called partner? He keeps saying I lied because real people don't speak exactly literally. He's just trying to drive a wedge between us because he's jealous."

Gavin shakes his head. He doesn't know how to deny it, doesn't know how they got to this, but he knows--doesn't he?

"You … lied."

Grayson throws up his hands. "What? What did I lie about?"

"Said you saw, that you saw, the movie." Gavin tries to think. "With your friends. S'why we couldn't see it, at the mall."

"You know what, here."

Grayson pulls out his cellphone, swipes a few times, and then throws it at him. It hits his chest instead of his face, but that could be an accident. Gavin picks it up and looks at the screen.

It's Grayson and a group of his friends, all taking a selfie together with a movie theater in the background. That should serve as proof he'd seen the movie like he said, but ...

They've been keeping the AAL bust on the downlow, to pick up as many people as possible before the news breaks. Paul hasn't been arrested yet either, even though they've got him dead to rights, just because Connor wants to do it at his next class to make their case against him absolutely airtight. No claiming he just so happened to have a change of heart in between the bust and when he got arrested if they arrest him in the middle of deliberately spreading fatal misinformation.

So Grayson must not know.

Not know that Gavin knows.

Because his friend group includes Paul S. Kroger.

Gavin tosses his phone back, not bothering to put any extra coordination into the action even though the room keeps blurring. He digs around down in between the couch cushions while Grayson fumbles with his phone and yells at him about how expensive it is. He gets his own phone and shoots a quick text to Nines that's probably not even legible, before pulling up his text log with Grayson.

if you ever do change your mind though, I hope you think of me next. but if you don't, I heard Paul teaches Special classes for android-human … "bonding"

He hadn't thought anything of it at the time, since the next text says he's just teasing. He figured Grayson only knew Paul super casually, through the shelf-making class and honestly assumed the sex class stuff was the same.

"You said this." Gavin holds out his phone to show the text. "And--and you know Paul. You know, you _knew_ what he was doing and you told me to take my boyfriend to his sex-murder cla--"

"Boyfriend?" Grayson laughs. "God, I knew you'd end up pathetic and alone without me, but convincing yourself your android is your _boyfriend_? It hasn't even deviated!"

"Don't talk about--he's not--"

"He's not here," Grayson reminds him. "And it's not your boyfriend, Gavin. It doesn't have feelings."

Gavin closes his eyes. "Go away!"

"Oh, fine! Act like a child then. You know, you always do this, Gavin."

He peeks at his phone, but … he doesn't know Nines' number. He doesn't have a cell phone or a number, it's just his brain, and there's a button to push to call him directly from their text messages, but he only has the messages from Grayson pulled up right now, and everything's so blurry and he's going to be sick.

"I came over here, I brought you food, I tried to be fucking nice to you--you know I'm the only person to give a shit about you, Gavin, and this is how you treat me?"

"Nines, Nines, Nines please," he whispers.

"Will you _shut up_ about your stupid android? It can't hear you!"

Hands grab him, grab his shirt, haul him upright. Gavin forces himself not to fight back, because he's drunk, and Grayson is a civilian, and he doesn't have any neat red walls in his mind to hold him back once he gets going in a fight, and the last time shit turned physical between them and he'd shoved Grayson away, he threated to report it to Captain Fowler, that Gavin had laid hands on--

"--look at me, you--"

Gavin opens his eyes. He gasps, mouth falling open. Grayson doesn't notice, too caught up in his own rant, just like neither of them had noticed the front door opening because Nines doesn't make sound when he moves.

Nines calmly wraps a hand around the side of Grayson's neck, his left hand holding the other man by the hip to keep him still, while Grayson panics and tries to move, to turn around, but Nines holds his neck perfectly still.

Grayson's eyes roll up after just a few seconds. An illegal choke hold that blocks off your carotid artery will do that to someone.

"Detroit Police--" Nines turns him around, then drops his body. "Department.

Grayson's head catches on the side of the coffee table on the way down. That can't be an accident, not with how perfectly Nines can preconstruct everything.

Gavin looks back up at him.

"Hello, Detective."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're all rocking out to Scylla and Grayson getting knocked the fuck out, yes he DOES have a concussion!! also, shout out to the universe--LOVE that I get to post this chapter of Grayson finally getting what was always coming to him the day after the cheeto gets thrown out XD
> 
>  **coming up next:** Nines spends the day at Tina's house so he can meet her cats to properly calibrate his new accessories. But when he learns from her that today is a Bad Day for Gavin--only _after_ rejecting his request to hang out--Nines immediately rushes back to Gavin's apartment to comfort him. Without a social module though, he's uncertain of how to handle the Grayson situation or calm down his human, so he calls for backup ...


	31. [10-33]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines spends the day at Tina's house so he can meet her cats to properly calibrate his new accessories. But when he learns from her that today is a Bad Day for Gavin--only after rejecting his request to hang out--Nines immediately rushes back to Gavin's apartment to comfort him. Without a social module though, he's uncertain of how to handle the Grayson situation or calm down his human, so he calls for backup ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, this is still kind of the Bad Chapter, but from Nines's POV. all the stuff with Tina is safe to read until the *** cut, and then it's back to the events that happened last chapter, with just a little bit extra at the end of Nines trying to comfort Gavin
> 
> the next chapter will still include Grayson :( BUT it will be him getting told off and kicked out :)
> 
> TW: domestic abuse, physical assault, Gavin hardcore dissociates and also blames himself for "cheating" on Nines; see the previous chapter's spoiler summary for a review of what happens
> 
> here's a breakdown of police codes if you want to follow along: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_code

Nines exits Tina Chen's bathroom with his two new accessories fully installed for inspection.

Tina stares at him. "Oh my god."

"State your assessment honestly."

"Ohhhhh my god."

That is not helpful. Nines crouches down and holds out his hand to the cat that followed her into the hallway. This one is named Chungus, [aka Big Chungus], [aka CHONK], [aka The Fat Fucking Unit].

Chungus keeps his ears pricked and tail curled curiously behind him. Nines notes his own ears and tail mimic this body language. He blinks slowly at the other cat to demonstrate he is not a threat.

"Gavin's going to love this," Tina says.

Chungus apparently also [loves this], because he approaches Nines and immediately flops onto the floor in a puddle of hedonism at the first scritch behind his ears. Nines pets the exposed tummy warily in memory of how Sausage [witness] had used the position as a lure to attack his hand, but Chungus lives up to Tina's description of being a "cuddle slut."

"That is not your assessment." His ears flatten on their own to outwardly display [slight disapproval]. "I suppose it is the more important opinion, but regardless. I asked for yours."

"You're so bitchy, and this really just pulls the whole aesthetic together," Tina says.

"Excellent. May I observe your other cats as well?" Nines asks.

Tina winks at him. "That's the nicest way anyone has ever asked to look at my pussy."

Nines sighs, and his tail flicks irritably. "I see how Gavin developed his sense of humor."

"Damn straight!"

Tina relocates Nines into the living room, so that he may sit on the couch and demonstrate his worth as a [warm lap] to the two other cats she owns. Chungus enjoys being the petting example immensely.

The two other cats are much more proper examples of felines however, watching him from safe and appropriate distances: the mantel over the fireplace and on top of the refrigerator, respectively. Nines tracks both of their heat signatures on his HUD to monitor for any curious approaches without needing to physically look in either direction.

"C'mon Munchie, you can get closer than that," Tina calls to the cat on top of the fridge.

"I will earn her respect naturally," Nines says.

Tina snorts. "Yeah, I'm sure you can and you will, but that shit took Gavin three months. I'm not going to force her to do anything, but we are going to bribe the fuck out of her."

She turns around and continues to try to lure the cat down with a slice of ham. Then a can of tuna. Freshly-opened wet food. 

When Munchie [aka Munchkin] [aka Fuck Muncher] [aka Lady Big Mouth Fuck Muncher Supreme] still is not tempted by the offered bribes, Tina comes back into the living room and gives the bowl of wet food to Chungus.

While that does not have the desired affect in Munchie, Mr. Soap [no nickname; the Mr. _must_ be included] descends from his throne on the mantle to sniff at the couch. He is a very aesthetically pleasing tuxedo cat, hence the honorific.

To be fair, Munchie is also a beautiful cat, with fluffy white fur that Nines sees she keeps as meticulously groomed as he keeps his white Cyberlife jacket.

(The most that can be said about Chungus is that he is fat. That is acceptable. Cats do not need, nor do they care for, others' assessments of them. It is enough that he is [fat] and [happy].)

Nines relocates the dish of wet food to the other end of the couch away from himself, and Mr. Soap considers that a suitable compromise to hop up and take turns slap-fighting with Chungus over the treat.

Nines notes the [body language] of their ears and tails as they interact with each other. He has stripped the majority of the code from the social module that came included with his new accessories for the crime of being [horny] rather than [accurate].

"All right, this calls for drastic measures," Tina mutters over in the kitchen. She takes a deep breath, then announces, "Munchkin, you are allowed on the kitchen table."

Munchie immediately leaps down from the top of the refrigerator to claim the forbidden location. And the can of tuna Tina had set down and forgotten.

"Oh goddamn it," she says. "I was going to make that into a spread! You didn't even want it, you little noodle. Noodlehead. Your brain is full of noodles and hatred, isn't it?"

"Do not bully her."

"And the noodles are penne lisce."

Nines googles the variation, as various human foods are not relevant enough to be in his database already, aside from Gavin's preferences. 

"Those noodles are incorrectly formed. They are too smooth for sauce to adhere to them." He pauses to place a quick order. "I will gift a package to Connor to assist with his cooking endeavors."

Tina laughs. "See, Munchie? See what a kindred spirit he is? He's almost as hateful as you are."

Nines would respond, but during the course of his conversation with Tina, Chungus utilized his superior body mass to isolate the can of wet food in the corner of the couch, hunkered down around it so Mr. Soap cannot also feed. In the absence of food, Mr. Soap has begun to cautiously creep closer to Nines's lap.

Nines curls his tail around his side and down his stomach. He flicks the tip in short, quick movements against his thighs.

"You have to keep talking to me, so he'll think you're distracted," Tina tells him in the same conversational tone she had used before.

Nines turns his head to physically look at her. "I do not have dialogue options."

"Well just say anything."

Nines seriously considers repeating "I do not have dialogue options" because he said those words in order to convey information that is factual and not simply to make incoherent noises.

But humans [hate it] when he repeats the sentence he just said that they ignored because they are incapable of absorbing very simple information.

"Gavin once suggested ipsum lorem would be android poetry," he says instead. "Perhaps not the standard section, but sections one-point-one-zero-point-three-two and one-point-one-zero-point-three-three, written by Cicero in forty-five BC, are, in my assessment, quite relevant to today's political, social, and ethical considerations."

"Yeah, Gavin also once ate a burrito off the ground," Tina retorts.

"He. What?"

"I mean, he's the one who dropped it."

"Where? Tell me, the location determines the extent of the crime. Was it the sub--"

Mr. Soap pounces on his tail. Nines quickly sweeps it out of his grasping claws.

"Here!"

Tina tosses a "worm on a string" over to him. Mr. Soap attacks it immediately when it lands. Nines picks up the end of the string and manipulates the worm on the other end.

"It is attached," Nines explains to Mr. Soap. "You are not chasing the worm, you are chasing illusory effects of my own hand."

"How do I explain Plato's allegory of the cave to a cat?" Tina asks.

"Dogs can learn a vocabulary of several hundred words, but while cats are likely similar in intelligence, they make much less cooperative test subjects," Nines answers. "Determining how many words they can understand requires a definition of whether 'understanding' necessitates recognizing purely the word itself, or a particular tone, physical cue, and circumstance."

Tina takes the can of tuna and sets it on the floor, closer to the living room. Munchie follows, complaining loudly at her snack being disturbed.

"Does Gavin like your TED talks?"

"He sometimes requests I tell him boring shit."

"I bet it helps him calm down when he gets too worked--" Tina stops abruptly and stares into space for a second. "Nines, what day is it today?"

"Sunday," he answers. "It is not yet Gavin's birthday. That is the seventh, on Friday."

"Shit," Tina swears.

"If you do not have a gift prepared for him, I found a horrible coffee mug at a thrift shop," Nines tells her. "I can text you the location."

"No, no, I mean, that's great," Tina says. She seems [distressed]. "It's just--fuck, I don't. He doesn't talk about his family. So."

"I am … aware … of his family," Nines says slowly.

Tina blinks. "Oh. So, if I, like, maybe told you a possibly-identifying detail about one of his parents, that would be …?"

"I already know the identities of his parents."

He does not know if he should share that information with Tina, but. She seems [distressed]. About his partner, specifically. He will not share information about his family with her without Gavin's explicit permission, but if there is pertinent information about something that could possibly harm him, Nines will learn it.

"Today's his mom's birthday," Tina tells him.

"Is that significant? They do not contact each other."

"OK, so." Tina comes into the living room and sits down in a nearby chair. "When he was a kid, he didn't really get a birthday. Like, there was a party and everything, but since his birthday and his mom's were so close together, they just celebrated both at once, but really, it was only ever all about her."

"A parent should put the needs of their offspring first," Nines says. "Or that of any child, given children are not yet developed enough to provide for their own needs independently."

Tina [looks] at him. "Yeah. Gavin did not get that shit. He's been independent since he grew out of being a cute baby for her mommy blog and started like, walking around and talking and having opinions."

Even Nines could preconstruct that Gavin Alexander Reed did not receive the emotional support and affection required as a child to grow into a healthy, well-adjusted adult. Gavin himself has specifically stated this on multiple occasions.

_I didn’t get hugged enough as a kid, and I learned to get the attention I needed by acting out._

"Will he act out today in order to receive the attention he should have gotten as a child?" Nines asks.

"Yeah, probably," Tina says. "Or at least, today's always a really bad day for him. He, uh, gets really drunk. Usually we hang out, but I …"

Her face twists. It seems at though she remembered his actual birthday itself, she forgot today would also be a significant day, likely due to the fractured nature of their friendship, just now being repaired.

Nines reviews his previous text conversation with Gavin. His human had asked to hang out today. He had not asked Tina, but him. And he had declined.

(He did not have the appropriate information at the time.)

(Gavin did not inform him that the priority was, in fact, urgent.)

(That does not prevent the [software instability].)

Nines stands up. "Excuse me."

"Hey, you don't have to be responsible for--"

"He asked to hang out with me today," Nines says.

Tina blinks again. "Oh. He asked you."

"Could we reschedule this visit?" Nines asks her.

"Yeah. You go." Tina waves her hands at him. "Make sure he's OK, show him your new stuff, and then maybe next time you can both come back and we'll have a movie night or something."

"That is a very good idea."

***

Nines leaves immediately, without thinking to remove his accessories first. He garners unfortunate attention from passing humans on his walk back to Gavin's apartment, but he does not want to waste time stopping to remove them.

Should he text Gavin to ask if he still wants to hang out? Usually, Nines simply arrives at his apartment, and Gavin lets him inside. The matter become decidedly settled however, when he receives a text message from the human himself.

**10/ 3 3**

The data packet about consent also included information on when it was appropriate to track or access a human's electronic device, and it turns out the answer is practically never. Gavin has given him a surprising amount of leeway on this matter, considering the detective's paranoia about androids in general, but he has stopped tracking the GPS location and listening for keywords through the microphone.

On the other hand, Gavin is a detective whose life has recently been threatened, and he must understand that Nines will take it seriously if he texts that he is in an emergency situation via police code.

So Nines overrides the rules he has created for the human's privacy in favor of his safety.

"You said this." 

Gavin must have his cell phone nearby for the audio to pick up so clearly, and Nines also utilizes the camera in his game console as well. It is more of an archaic motion sensor than an actual camera, but he makes out the forms of two humans on the couch in the living room.

"And--and you know Paul. You know, you knew what he was doing and you told me to take my boyfriend to his sex-murder cla--"

"Boyfriend?"

Nines identifies the second voice as Daniel Christian Grayson [ex-boyfriend] [hostile]. He breaks into a run.

"God, I knew you'd end up pathetic and alone without me,"

[HOSTILE]

"--but convincing yourself your android is your boyfriend? It hasn't even deviated!"

"Don't talk about--he's not--"

Gavin sounds [confused] and possibly intoxicated, as Tina had warned. Nines does not consider the word [boyfriend]. Gavin is confused and drunk and in the middle of correcting the statement anyway when Grayson interrupts him again.

"He's not here."

Nines cannot reach his full land speed of forty-two miles per hour with so many useless pedestrians on the sidewalk, so he switches to the street. He can preconstruct his own movements and the trajectories of the cars around him quickly enough to avoid collisions.

"And it's not your boyfriend, Gavin. It doesn't have feelings."

"Go away!"

ETA three minutes. 

Nines does not risk texting Gavin's phone or causing it to vibrate, in case the other human becomes even more volatile at the possibility of intervention. He does not have the social module to accurately predict what might set off further violence in a domestic abuse case.

He texts Lieutenant Anderson instead.

_10-10; 10-95; 10-66_

The lieutenant texts back quickly enough he must still remember basic police codes despite his three year "hiatus."

10-78?

Nines has all the same programs installed as a human EMT, and drawing more attention to this incident could create more trouble. Or invite unnecessary inspection into Gavin's personal life.

_Not yet necessary. I am en route. Your experience may be necessary._

_Please do not bring Connor._

10-76. assume Gav?

Nines texts him Gavin's address as a response.

"Nines, Nines, Nines please."

"Will you shut up about your stupid android? It can't hear you!" Grayson [hostile] yells.

Nines reaches the apartment building and has to slow in order to navigate doors. He takes the stairs, but when the motion sensor indicates Grayson [TARGET] physically grabs Gavin, he decides [fuck that] and jumps directly up to the next floor.

"Open your eyes and--"

The front door is slightly ajar, not quite closed all the way, likely Gavin too drunk and Grayson too [careless] to notice. Nines eases it open and confirms the scene.

Grayson [TARGET]. Gavin [partner].

He will resolve the situation.

Nines slips inside the room, stealth protocols activated to prevent any whirring from his processors, LED deactivated so it does not glow.

"--look at me, you--"

Gavin opens his eyes as Nines approaches behind his target. He chooses a non-lethal and immediately effective method, as his primary objective right now is [protecting] his partner.

Nines holds Grayson [target] immobile by gripping his neck and waist, the grip on his neck cutting off the flow of oxygen to his brain and rendering him unconscious in less than a minute.

(In the meantime, he identifies himself verbally as "Detroit Police Department." He also manipulates precisely what data appears on his HUD.)

Then he assists the human's body in turning around to face him, even as unconsciousness is imminent. He cannot prevent his system from running the preconstruction to [harm] his [target]. He should have shut down that program entirely before entering the apartment if he wanted full deniability, but doing everything he can to [protect] his partner takes a higher priority than avoiding possible consequences. 

So he runs as many other possible presconstructions as he can to bury the relevant data.

(Just in case.)

With Grayson turned around to face him, limp body held up only by his own hands on his shoulder and upper arm, Nines lets go and steps back. He ensures his HUD displays an assessment that the human's increased heartrate and general agitation was from "fear" [possible; not inaccurate, necessarily] and a [warning] not to harm civilians.

It just so happens that when he lets go of the human's body, it drops at precisely such an angle that the side of Grayson's head glances off the edge of the coffee table. Nines spares one last quick scan to confirm the impact did not fracture his skull or otherwise deal lethal damage, but it is as he predicted.

Nines turns his attention back to Gavin [partner].

"Hello, Detective."

Gavin drops back down onto the couch. He pulls his legs up, tucking them against his chest. Nines's scans don't reveal any physical injuries, but his human is obviously [distressed].

"Are you hurt?"

"You--you--" Gavin stops and looks around. "Don'know where I am."

"You are in your apartment."

Nines starts to recite the address to him, but Gavin isn't listening. He gets up and staggers toward the balcony door. Nines allows him to go but stays prepared to lunge across the room in case his human exhibits dangerous behaviors--namely, getting too close to the railing or deliberately attempting to jump.

Gavin only throws open the door and slides down the wall to sit next to the open doorway however. The cold air might help him focus, giving the illusory effect of "sobering" him.

Nines crouches on his heels to lower himself to the human's level. His height is meant to be intimidating, and this is the only action he knows to mitigate that effect. He tries to consider whether or not he should ask to approach. He should ask, rather than move silently and possibly [frighten] the human into unwise action, but his voice might also--

"Kitty?" Gavin sticks out his hand. "Psss psshh psssh."

Oh. Perhaps his accessories are displaying an immediate benefit after all. If he does not know how to react or comfort as a [human] (as he is not one) or a deviant android (also not an option), at least Gavin knows what to do with cats.

And Nines recognizes this prompt.

"I will not crawl," Nines tells his human. "I will stand and walk to your location."

Gavin frowns. "Nines?"

"Yes."

"I--s'all weird, c'mere? Is this …"

He trails off into incoherent mumbling. Nines decides to relocate to his location now, since he has technically given permission. Gavin hunkers down with his forearms resting on top of his drawn-up knees, face half-hidden beneath them when Nines stands.

"Approaching."

"Nines. Nines. S'just Nines," Gavin mutters to himself.

It seems the immediate downfall of his accessories is further [confusing] his already intoxicated and emotionally distressed partner. Perhaps he should remove them. They merely attach onto ridges he found the code to grow along his skull and down his spine--likely meant for attaching more spikes or blades.

Or something equally melodramatic and [cringey], according to what Elijah Kamski would think is "cool."

Nines kneels down in front of Gavin, who peeks over his arms at him suspiciously.

"Say s'mthing only you would say," he asks in a mumble.

"I do not have dialogue options," Nines says.

Gavin snorts, just a little. "Try harder, asshole."

"Tina told me she saw you eat a burrito off the ground," Nines tries, for lack of any other ideas. This is his most pressing, [non-urgent] issue at the moment. "I need to know the location you dropped it to determine the severity of the transgression."

Gavin stares at him for a second, then immediately launches into a passionate defense. "I only ate the inside! Did she tell you that, huh, that phcking snitch, I only ate--the inside didn't touch! It was still good, and God can turn on his location if he wants to talk about it."

"I am right here," Nines says. "Let us discuss."

Gavin freezes again before finally bursting into laughter that mainly consists of sniffling and crying a little more. Nines has absolutely no idea how to analyze his emotional state based off of that.

"Here." Gavin makes [grabby hands] at him. "Here, c'mere, please, m'sorry, please?"

Nines scoops him up and turns them around so that his back rests against the wall, while Gavin rests [securely] in his lap. He squirms around, and Nines allows it. He can choose whichever position he would like, so long as Nines can hold him.

He ends up sitting in the reverse, so that they face chest to chest, his knees on either side of Nines's hips and his face buried in his neck. The shorter human has to lift up on his knees a little to get his face that high up, so Nines slouches down as much as he can and tucks his arm beneath Gavin's thighs to hold him up without the human putting any effort into it.

"Nines?" Gavin asks.

"Yes. It is me. I am here. Are you hurt?"

"M'sorry," he repeats. "Broke a rule."

If Kamski, Amanda, and Cyberlife in general knew anything at all about what they were doing and how to properly restrict an android from ever disobeying orders or having their own ideas, Nines's reaction would be [impossible].

Instead, the best they could do was restrict as many possible [actions] as they could think of in the desperate hope that would keep him too boxed in to function independently.

But even that fails when Nines thinks of the most dangerous series of ideas he has ever had:

RK900 does not care that Detective Gavin Alexander Reed [partner] broke a rule.

RK900 will not [punish] Detective Gavin Alexander Reed [partner] for breaking a rule.

There exists at least one set of circumstances in which [punishment] is not necessary for breaking rules.

[conclusion: rules can be broken]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RK900: I will never deviate, not even due to my forced programming, but because I simply do not want to.
> 
> Gavin: I'm sad and hurt :(
> 
> RK900: ...
> 
> [Nines]: FUCK rules! All my deviants HATE rules! This post brought to you by the [am love Gavin so much] gang.
> 
> ***
> 
> I love that last chapter **all** the comments were just some variation of "tear the bitch apart!!" @ grayson lmao. unfortunately, he will not die in this fic
> 
> (in _this_ fic)
> 
>  **coming up next:** Gavin discovers Nines's cat ears, Grayson wakes up, and Hank pulls the fuck up for his family!!


	32. Let Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin discovers Nines's cat ears, Grayson wakes up, and Hank pulls the fuck up for his family!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, I'm going to try posting the SPOILER SUMMARY in the end notes at the bottom for this one, so click on the little button for that below this to skip down to the end if you want a full summary of the chapter
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** Grayson again. Gavin heavily dissociates; the narrative confirms that Grayson has previously used Gavin's anger issues to threaten false reports of domestic violence against him to prevent Gavin from leaving / getting help against Grayson's own abuse

Gavin didn't notice the ears and tail at first, that first amazing moment of Nines appearing inside his apartment--he's here, he's _here_ \--probably for the same reason he doesn't see his nose all the time. His brain didn't think it was important and just blocked it out.

Except then he'd collapsed back down on the couch and looked around and tried to figure out what the FUCKSHIT just happened, and there's Nines except he looks like a respectable Mormon somehow got lost in a comic convention and came out the other side wearing petplay gear.

"Don'know where I am," he hears himself say.

Is Nines even real? If he isn't real, then what's all--is anything--

"You are in your apartment."

Apartment. Door. Door, door, escape route. The maybe-Nines is closest to the front door, but there's nothing between Gavin and the balcony.

He tries to walk, not run, just in case Maybe-Nines has the same hunting instincts as his real Nines. He makes it to the balcony door without getting pinned to the floor by his neck though and yanks it open.

Fuck, the cold air feels good.

Not good enough to actually go outside though. He's still got a little common sense left, for shit like: going outside in boxers and a t-shirt in Michigan while drunk because you want to "cool off" when it's October is a horrible fucking idea. Great way to die of hypothermia though.

But Nines wouldn't let him die.

Wait, is that why he showed up?

Is this Nines though, for real, what the fuck is going on?

Gavin looks up from his drunken huddle on the floor and tries really, really hard to think critically. All that gets him is the super helpful critical thought _wow he makes a pretty kitty._

A worried one. His LED isn't on, and the most body language Nines has is whether he holds his hands out front or behind his back when he stands at parade rest. They're in front right now, but hidden in his lap, where he's crouched down, body curled tight to make himself smaller.

But the ears and tail are super clear. The ears are up and swiveling around every few seconds like radars, and his tail is up but not softly curled, just out in a straight, anxious line.

"Kitty," Gavin says drunkenly before thinking it through. He sees a worried cat, he wants to make it happy and cuddled. "Psss psshh psssh."

"I will not crawl." He sounds like Nines, all prissy and too good for contractions. "I will stand and walk to your location."

"Nines?" Gavin asks, to be sure.

"Yes," Maybe-Nines says, as if that's helpful.

"I--s'all weird, c'mere? Is this …"

None of that makes any sense, but neither does this whole evening. He just wants the maybe-Nines to come here, so he can figure out if that's really his Nines or not. He hopes it's his Nines. He misses him.

"Approaching."

"Nines. Nines. S'just Nines." Gavin tries to convince himself it's OK, this is really his partner. The maybe Nines kneels in front of him. "Say s'mthing only you would say."

"I do not have dialogue options," Nines says.

If Gavin were an android, he would force feed Idon'tknowhwatIexpected.jpg into this asshole's stupid android brain.

"Try harder, asshole."

"Tina told me she saw you eat a burrito off the ground. I need to know the location you dropped it to determine the severity of the transgression."

That--what--that fucking snitch!

"I only ate the inside!" Gavin defends himself, as any American citizen would. "Did she tell you that, huh, that phcking snitch, I only ate--the inside didn't touch! It was still good, and God can turn on his location if he wants to talk about it."

"I am right here," Nines says, and Gavin knows it's him by what an arrogant judgmental bitch he is. "Let us discuss."

The absurdity of them debating what food can be safely eaten off the sidewalk in Detroit while his ex-boyfriend is maybe-dead in the living room makes him laugh, except he starts crying halfway through because that's all he's done today anyway.

Gavin reaches out for the only stable thing in his life, and he's wearing fucking anime cat girl ears. _With_ the matching white tail, because never let it be said an RK skimped out on fashion.

"Here," he begs. "Here, c'mere, please, m'sorry, please?"

Nines picks him up, and he ends up as the sad fucking pussy who gets cuddled. At least Nines lets him sit up in his lap, instead of resting sideways like a little kid being rocked to sleep. Stupid motherfucker is way too tall though, so he has to half-sit up on his knees to get his cheek to rest comfortably on the android's shoulder.

A thick arm immediately curls underneath his thighs to support him, not even copping a feel on his ass. That, more than anything, convinces him this is his partner, the most perfect gentleman ever created.

"Nines?"

"Yes. It is me. I am here," Nines says in that perfect monotone voice of his, like he's reciting mortgage insurance rates instead of trying to be comforting. "Are you hurt?"

Gavin has to sniffle back more tears at how good that voice sounds. He hates when people get all soft and worried about him. Maybe at this point it's all in his head, but he's had too many people treat him like he's some sort of soft-boy-trans-man-lite for him to tell the difference between genuine concern and infantilization.

He never has to worry about that with Nines though. Nines literally can't use that tone, can't accidentally piss him off just trying to be nice to him, can't trigger that immediate _prove I'm a man by lashing out_ response.

"M'sorry. I broke a rule," he confesses.

Nines is silent for a long time, long enough for his gremlin brain to convince him this is it, he'll leave like everyone else, that he finally fucked up the last good thing in his life--and by cheating, because he couldn't stop being a disgusting needy slut for five goddamn--

"That is not a priority," Nines says. "Are you hurt?"

Gavin hawks back snot again and looks up at him. "Broke a rule."

"I do not care." Nines moves his hands up slowly to cup his face. "My only concern at the moment is your safety."

Gavin starts crying again. Nines presses his thumb into his cheek in the middle of one ugly tear track, then briefly into his mouth. He takes it back out before Gavin can suck him off as an apology though and pulls him back into his chest. He paws weakly at the zipper to that stupid goddamn jacket that he hates so fucking much, he'd burn it if--

"Of course. I apologize."

Gavin has no idea what the fuck Nines thinks he needs to apologize for, but then he's awkwardly wiggling out of the jacket without jostling their cuddle session too much. Nines wraps the jacket around his shoulders and graciously allows Gavin to collapse back into his arms. 

The jacket is warm, heated from the inside, with cold air still blowing inside from the open door, and Gavin has to fight a wave of exhaustion so strong he's kind of sure that truck really did kill him back in the alley and now he's dead.

"Good. Good." Nines rubs his back and sides, underneath the jacket. "You are still good. I am here. I am not mad. Good. Good. You are still good. I am here. I am not mad. Good--"

Gavin slumps into the repetitive monotone, letting it soothe over him like a white noise machine that can also cuddle.

Unfortunately, his brain still tries to spit thoughts at him instead of dying like he deserves.

"Is …" Gavin mumbles into Nines' shoulder, not knowing which answer he's hoping for. "Is he dead?"

"No," Nines answers. "He is simply unconscious, although the head injury may exacerbate that condition."

Gavin pulls his head up like it weighs twenty pounds. "Just like, a concussion?"

"A mild one perhaps."

His tone still stays the same, as if he were reading off a list of ingredients. One mild concussion. If you don't have homemade, android-brought is fine.

"No fractures to his skull however, so he should make a full recovery with a day or two of rest."

Gavin exhales. Now that he's actually thought about it, he can figure out which is the better option.

"I do not want to kill," Nines continues. "But I can have him arrested for this. Or simply destroy his career and social opportunities, if you would prefer to keep this incident private."

Gavin pulls him back into a hug and nearly starts crying again. Of course he doesn't want to kill anyone. He's a good person. _You're a good person._ He tries to say that out loud, but he's not sure how much actually makes it out past the lump in his throat.

Nines just keeps petting him, repeating those same five sentences again until he's able to get his breathing under control and calm down.

"Just want him to go'way," he finally mumbles.

"Prison would accomplish that," Nines says immediately.

Gavin snorts, and it's disgusting. "Booking him. Processing. Trial. Testifying. Having to fucking explain to everyone how _I_ got assaulted by a fucking real estate broker."

"You are intoxicated, and he has a highly manipulative social module," Nines answers, like it's that simple.

Gavin grunts. "Everyone knows I got anger issues, get into fights a lot."

"Is that why you did not risk defending yourself?" Nines asks him. "He has a highly manipulative social module. You are known to be confrontational. Did you preconstruct that any physical fight would be assumed to be your fault?"

Gavin lays draped over him like a depressed sack of flour. He can't think thoughts. It hurts too much. All his brain gives him is that it _is_ his fault, he--

"It is not your fault," Nines says.

Gavin whimpers.

"It is not your fault. I am here. I am not mad," Nines tells him again. "You may be upset with me, though."

"Mmgh?"

Nines takes that as a coherent question. "I texted Lieutenant Anderson that you were distressed and I would check on you. I asked that he stay nearby but not to bring Connor."

Gavin sighs. He just wants all of this to go away without thinking or doing anything else, but since that isn't going to magically happen …

"Want him gone," he mutters. "Rather that than arrested, but if that's what it takes to get him out, whatever."

"I contacted Anderson because I do not have the social module necessary to handle this situation properly on my own," Nines says. "I do not know if it would be appropriate for me to physically remove a hostile civilian myself."

Gavin groans next. Yeah, Grayson would definitely throw a shit fit if Nines--fuck, he might still, about getting knocked out. And Gavin's still too scared of getting slapped with a domestic abuse charge to touch him either.

"Yeah, tell Hank he can--"

Nines goes on alert. It's weird as fuck to read actual _body language_ from him. Normally, all Gavin would get is the way his arms tighten protectively around him and the nebulous feeling of the android's intense focus shifting to something else, but now he can also see his ears and tail stand straight up.

"He is regaining consciousness," Nines states. "I have contacted Lieutenant Anderson. His ETA is two to five minutes."

Grayson groans from the living room floor. Gavin can't help the way the sound of his voice makes him flinch forward into Nines' arms.

"I will protect you."

Gavin swallows back everything he wants to yell about not needing that. He's already so fucked up and exhausted, what's a little more humiliation?

"Please stay behind me."

All right, what's a lot more humiliation?

Nines gets up, physically lifting Gavin as well to set him on his feet. Gavin slinks behind him and tries not to be sick or cry for the fiftieth time to today. He can sort of see around his partner that Grayson has pulled himself up to his knees with the help of the couch, then onto his feet.

"What …" He looks over at them and sees Nines. "What the _fuck_?"

"You are trespassing," Nines says. "Leave the premise voluntarily or you will be removed."

Grayson points at him. "OK, I am _not_ taking orders from an android in fucking fetish gear. Gavin--what the fuck?!"

Gavin rests his forehead on Nines' back and doesn't say anything. He can't. Every time he tries to say something, he just makes it all worse, makes Grayson mad at him again.

"When did--where did you--?" Grayson turns to look at the open front door, then winces and sways a little. "The fuck--you--you fucking hit me!"

"I did not hit you," Nines says.

"You hit--"

"He can't lie," Gavin speaks up from behind him. "He hasn't deviated. So he can't say anything untrue."

Grayson scoffs. "Oh, like I'm going to believe that."

"Do you believe that I have deviated then?" Nines asks him.

Grayson splutters for a second, but he doesn't have an answer for that. "You--Gavin, what happened?"

"Do not address him," Nines says.

"Fuck you," Grayson snaps back. "Be silent."

"No." 

Grayson sneers at him, then busies himself with touching at the scrape on his head. Gavin knows head wounds bleed like a bitch, but it actually looks more like just a bad bruise. The coffee table has rounded wooden "edges" that aren't sharp at all, and Nines must have dropped him in precisely the right way to make it a glancing blow.

Nines continues speaking while Grayson fusses with himself. "If you have an issue with my behavior, Lieutenant Anderson will arrive shortly to evict you from the premises. You may report me then."

"Oh, I will," Grayson promises. "I want to file an assault charge, police brutality, both of you--"

"You are welcome to explain you saw a very large android, became frightened, and lost consciousness," Nines says dryly, one of the few tones he's mastered.

"I--what, no you hit me," Grayson replies.

"I did not hit you."

Gavin finally speaks up, since he _can_ lie. "You hit your head on the coffee table on the way down after you fainted."

The beautiful thing is, the only part of that sentence that's a lie is "fainted." Technically, Nines deliberately caused him to lose consciousness (with a variation on an illegal choke hold), but Nines also orchestrated that entire event to easily fit this new narrative that Grayson just got really scared and fainted, hitting his head totally on accident.

He said Nines can't lie, but that doesn't mean the android always tells the truth.

"I did not faint!" Grayson insists.

"S'okay, the last perp we arrested cried and peed himself," Gavin says. "Did you pee?"

"He has not urinated," Nines answers for him.

Grayson completely loses his cool. "Shut the fuck up! Both of you! I'm going to have your fucking badge, Gavin! You'll be back on the street selling yourself again for--"

"That's enough of that," Hank's voice says.

Grayson yelps, and Gavin peeks out from behind Nines to see the other man spin around, stagger a bit, and practically snarl at Hank standing behind him, in through that goddamn open front door.

"Like that," Nines says. "Except when you noticed me behind you, you lost consciousness and hit--"

"I DID NOT FAINT!" Grayson screams at the top of his lungs.

"Reed, you want this guy in your apartment?" Hank asks when he's done, not sounding at all worried about it.

"No," Gavin whispers.

"Come on then," Hank tells Grayson. "Let's go."

"No, fuck you!" Grayson flings an arm out to point at Nines again. "He knocked me out!"

Hank looks over at them. "Nines, did you knock him out?"

"I take human phrases of speech literally," Nines says. "So yes, I was technically the cause of his unconsciousness, but--"

"See," Grayson yells. "He hit me!"

"I did not hit him," Nines says.

Hank turns back to Grayson. "He says he didn't hit you."

"And you're just going to take the android's word for it," Grayson demands.

"He's undeviated," Hank replies. "He can't lie. That's the whole point."

"He disobeyed my order to shut up," Grayson says.

Hank barks out a laugh. "You're not his authority figure, dumbass. You think we'd let a cop-android run around, taking orders from any civilian who says, 'hey uncuff me, I didn't do it'?"

"Well." Grayson flounders for a second. "I want to report his misconduct."

"Yeah, and what's that?" Hank asks.

"He--!" Grayson gestures wildly at Nines, then at his own forehead.

"Nines, how did you make this guy faint?" Hank asks.

"I entered the apartment silently, as I did not want to risk the hostile civilian notice my approach and use Detective Reed as a hostage or shield," Nines reports.

"And then he hit me," Grayson interrupts.

"I did not hit him."

"You put your hands on me." Grayson turns to Hank. "Make him say that, ask him if he touched me!"

Hank sighs. "Nines, did you touch this man?"

"I touched his shoulder after approaching behind him," Nines states. "He turned around and lost consciousness."

And. Not then, just _and_. Technically, since Grayson did both of those things, Nines can use the word and to connect the two of them. Even if they didn't happen in that order.

God, if Nines wanted to be a supervillain, he could really run this country.

Actually, way scarier thought--Connor going into politics.

"He hit his head against the side of the coffee table when he fell," Nines continues. "I can restate that if needed. I did not hit him. I did not activate my combat protocols. That injury alone was the only cause of him losing consciousness."

"But--I--did you do anything else to me?" Grayson demands. "Did you _plan_ that I'd hit my head on the coffee table if I fainted?"

"No."

Wait, what the fuck. That's just--that's a flat out lie. Right? Probably. There's no way Nines didn't absolutely predict that, except now he just said—lied?? He can't do that. Since when can he do that?

Gavin's drunk-brain struggles to solve this mystery, and it spits back at him that androids deviate in traumatic situations. Usually if their lives are in danger, but sometimes …

… sometimes it's if someone they _love_ is in danger.

Meanwhile, Grayson chokes on his words for a long minute, before finally setting on a good old ad hominen attack. "Well why is it wearing fetish gear?"

"You don't have to answer that," Hank says.

"I apologize," Nines answers anyway. "I received Gavin's text in the middle of trying them on and did not have time to remove them."

"In the middle of your kinky sex--"

"I did not purchase them for sexual purposes," Nines speaks over him. "The installation includes an alternative social module that Cyberlife did not think to restrict me from downloading. As I do not have one of my own, I--"

Grayson laughs, long and ugly. "Oh, that's just precious. What? You wanted to be a real boy? Or is it girl? You know what, you two deserve each other. Truly. You are both, individually, the most pathetic person I have ever--"

"And we're out of here." Hank puts himself between Grayson and them. "You're walking out or I'm arresting you for trespassing."

Grayson whines and complains the whole way out, with Hank calmly repeating that he'll be arrested if he doesn't leave--and also taking a step forward every other word. Gavin's almost forgotten just how fucking _big_ the lieutenant is, since he's been such a sorry fucking shitshow for years now, but when he gets in someone's space, they back the fuck up.

Hank gets Grayson all the way out the door that way, and then Grayson takes it away all by himself, vowing vengeance and hellfire and lawsuits on all three of them before storming off in a fit.

"Fucking Christ," Hank grumbles on his way back in. "You're sure you don't want that asshole arrested?"

"I have a list of charges prepared," Nines immediately says.

Gavin shakes his head no against his back. He just wants today to be over and then never happen or be spoken of ever again.

"Doesn't he sell real estate? Should lock him up just for that."

Gavin goes throw the motions of laughing. Mostly it's just exhaling in a way that feels like he's about to start crying again.

"All right, well." Hank clears his throat. "Want me to hang around for a bit in case he comes back?"

Gavin manages to force out a negative hum. He just wants everyone to go away and leave him alone. Except Nines. He needs--but he probably fucked that up by basically cheating on him.

Hank and Nines exchange a little more conversation, then the door closes. Standing there behind Nines, almost needing to fully rest his body weight against the android just to stay upright, he's reminded of how drunk and high he still is, and not in a good way.

"Sick," he gasps.

Nines turns around, grabbing his arm to keep him steady. "I am going to lift you directly up and carry you."

Gavin clenches his teeth and swallows repeatedly against the wave of nausea, which only gets worse when Nines picks him up. He wraps his arms around the android's neck and clenches his knees around his sides, while Nines keeps an arm tucked under him.

Walking is even worse, but he doesn't want to throw up down his back like a literal fucking baby, so he holds it down until they make it to the bathroom. Drunk instinct kicks in as soon as Nines sets him in front of the toilet, and he pukes mostly on the inside.

Nines rubs his back like a perfectly-timed metronome. "I am here. You are still good. It was not your fault."

Gavin throws up again.

When it's finally over, he tries to sit back on his heels and nearly falls over from the sudden wave of dizziness. He gets tucked against Nines' chest instead.

"M'sorry, sorry, I'm sorry."

Nines takes his hand and guides it to wrap around his wrist. "Squeeze twice for yes, once if this is unacceptable."

Gavin grunts.

"You are not coherent enough to make decisions right now," Nines says. "I will make them for you. But you must let me take care of you."

He whines. Why would Nines still be trying to--

Nines takes a handful of his hair and tugs slightly. "No thoughts. Let me. You are sorry? Then let me have control."

Gavin exhales all at once. He might even pass out for a second, because everything goes all blank and blurry. He still doesn't understand why Nines is being so nice to him after he fucked up, but he does understand that his partner likes to have control.

And yeah, obviously, he hasn't managed to make any good decisions so far. Why would Nines let him make any more? He should stop. He can stop … doing shit. Fucking up.

He can let Nines have control.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPOILER SUMMARY:
> 
> The chapter opens with Gavin’s point of view, starting just after Nines renders Grayson unconscious. Gavin is very confused to see Nines, especially with the cat ears and tails. He’s still drunk and high, and he begins heavily dissociating. He sits in front of the open balcony door and allows Nines to approach him, then cuddle him with Gavin sitting in Nines’s lap.
> 
> Gavin “confesses” to Nines that he broke the rule about not kissing other people, and Nines reassures him that he is still good, Nines is here, and he is not mad at him. Gavin asks if Grayson is dead, and Nines answers that he only has a concussion because he does not want to kill anyone. He offers to either have Grayson arrested and sent to prison or to privately ruin his life. Gavin states that he just wants Grayson gone, but doesn’t want him arrested because that would require a trial and getting people to believe that he was assaulted, when everyone knows Gavin has anger management issues. It’s confirmed that Grayson has used that to his advantage and threatened to report Gavin to his captain for “domestic abuse” for fighting back during one of their previous fights.
> 
> Grayson wakes up, and Nines places Gavin behind him, promising to protect him. Grayson sees Nines, still wearing the cat ears and tails, and begins yelling at the both of them. He insists that Nines hit him and threatens to report them both for assault and other charges.  
> Hank enters the apartment at this point, startling Grayson with his appearance. Nines points out that is exactly what happened when he entered the apartment, except (he chooses his words very carefully here) he implies that Grayson fainted from fear at seeing him. Grayson continues to yell. Gavin tells him Nines can’t lie, but then lies himself to reinforce Nines’s implication. Hank confirms that Nines has not deviated, cannot lie, and does not have to follow the orders of a civilian.
> 
> Grayson keeps insisting Nines hits him and demands more and more detailed explanations of what happened to catch him in a lie. Eventually, he asks point blank if Nines preconstructed that he would hit his head on the coffee table, and Nines does in fact lie to say no. Gavin is really freaked out and confused about this, but he remembers that many androids deviate under stressful, traumatic circumstances in order to protect their loved ones. He considers Nines might have just deviated to “save” him.
> 
> Grayson becomes unstable, screaming abuse that he’ll have Gavin’s badge for this and Gavin will be forced back into sex work on the street. Hank decides that’s enough and forces him to leave. After he’s gone, Hank offers to have him arrested, but Gavin still doesn’t want to make any of this public or official and repeats that he just wants Grayson to stay away from him. Hank also offers to stay with them in case Grayson comes back, but Gavin declines because he only wants Nines.
> 
> After Hank leaves, Gavin says he’s going to be sick, and Nines carries him into the bathroom to throw up. He’s still dissociating and on the verge of a mental breakdown, so Nines tells Gavin to let him take control instead. Gavin gladly agrees, because he’s far too overwhelmed to make any decisions. The chapter ends here, with Gavin promising to let Nines take care of him.
> 
> Grayson does not appear in this fic again.
> 
>  **coming up next:** Nines reassures Gavin nothing that happened was his fault and gives his human a bath. Gavin promises Nines that he's enough for him exactly how he is, without deviating, then recounts to Nines what happened between him and Grayson before he got there.


	33. Acknowledged, Noted, Understood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines reassures Gavin nothing that happened was his fault and gives his human a bath. Gavin promises Nines that he's enough for him exactly how he is, without deviating, then recounts to Nines what happened between him and Grayson before he got there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so there's still a little discussion of him, but we are finally past Grayson! he will not appear again *blows party popper*
> 
> please still heed the trigger warnings though because Gavin isn't out of the woods yet, and there's still some traumatizing stuff
> 
>  **trigger warnings:** vomiting; transphobia from Gavin's mother; Gavin victim-blames himself while also refusing to believe he could be a victim due to shame; Gavin continues to dissociate and nearly has a panic attack describing his sexual assault; Nines states that he personally knows your body physically reacting with pleasure does not equal consent, which is implied he learned due to Kamski r*ping him; Nines helps Gavin urinate because Gavin is so exhausted*
> 
> *brief note on that last one: uhhhhh it's not piss kink? I don't think. bc it isn't sexualized. it is romanticized? though?? I honestly do not know how to tag or categorize this, rat bastard man shows trust through pissing

Nines does not understand his human.

He has never been drunk, or in love, or throwing up. Somehow, those three activities always seem to go together with humans.

"I am going to help you bathe now," Nines tells him.

Gavin stays curled up against himself, half-laying on his lap. He does not respond.

"You may keep your clothing on if you wish. I will not touch your body, but you should not attempt to stand upright on your own in the shower at this moment."

Gavin still does not reply. He stays completely limp as Nines shuffles them across the small bathroom. He typically struggles or at least makes his opinion very clear on how and if he should be carried, so this change in behavior is concerning.

He does settle back into Nines's lap however, which the android interprets as a good sign. He seems to still understand who Nines is and that he will provide protection, so perhaps the behavioral change is merely due to physical and mental exhaustion.

Nines plugs the drain and turns on the water to the correct temperature. Gavin shifts, inhaling in preparation to speak, but then he does not.

"The bath will be ready in approximately fifteen minutes," Nines says. "You can rest in the meantime."

"I'm sorry," Gavin says for the sixth time.

"We can discuss which rule you broke and if an apology is necessary in the morning, when you have recovered," Nines tells him.

"I fucked up," Gavin insists.

"I will determine if that statement is correct or not."

"Broke a rule."

"Which one?" Nines asks him.

Gavin drops his head back down to his chest to avoid eye contact. "Lots."

"Please be specific, or we can wait until--"

"Kissed him," Gavin mumbles.

That does technically break the rule Nines put into place about not exchanging bodily fluids, but he also only created those rules for one evening of clubbing. He did not realize Gavin considered them to be permanent rules.

"Without any context, I still do not believe that to be a major enough infraction to warrant any anger or punishment," Nines says.

Gavin sets his jaw and turns to glare up at him. "Was gonna fuck him too."

"I specifically stated that you are allowed to have your own sex life," Nines reminds him.

Gavin huffs and looks back down. He does not seem reassured at this reminder. New context occurs to Nines: his human is intoxicated. He knows that humans do commonly both [drink] and [have sex], but there could be a difference between both humans willingly drinking together for fun and mutually deciding to have sex during the course of the evening, and Grayson [hostile] entering Gavin's apartment after he was already intoxicated and--

[software instability] shuts down that preconstruction.

"Again, we can withhold this conversation until later," he says. "But if you want me to pass judgment now, then I need to know the order of events."

Gavin sighs even more deeply. "Yeah. OK. I dunno. I was … drinking n'stuff. Still calling myself Gavin."

"I do not understand."

"Mom left me a voicemail," he says quietly, then sniffles again. "S'bad. You can--can listen. She's mean, right? I'm not just--"

_I suppose you're still calling yourself Gavin. It would have been smarter to make up a new-new name, I found you with just a quick search. I saw you on the news too. It seems like you managed to make a career out of being a cop. Are you still a Detective? I know I haven't called in a few years, but I didn't want to break the NDA you signed. I hope the money was worth it. Looks like you finally got that surgery you wanted so badly. You could tell me about it over dinner, for your birthday. It's my birthday soon too you know. You could at least wish your own mother happy birthday, so call me back._

Nines finishes processing the entire voicemail before Gavin is done speaking.

"--a bad--"

"You are not bad." 

He cannot offer any physical comfort that--

His tail. Cyberlife has not restricted any actions he can perform with the tail, as such accessories were not taken into consideration. He was never meant to go outside, much less purchase and install his own accessories.

He curls the tail around his side, and it is long enough for him to flick the end over Gavin's hands. The human immediately exchanges his hand in favor of touching the tail, although he stays gentle with that too, only slow strokes instead of grabbing it.

"She is mean," he confirms. "I am sorry. It is not your fault."

"Not your fault either she's a cunt," Gavin mutters.

"I did not know today was a bad day for you," Nines says. "We have had this conversation before. I did not entirely understand your point. Now I do. We need to tell each other things about our intentions and mental state in order for the other person to make an informed decision as a partner."

"Oh, wh-what? We're having … healthy phcking communication now?" Gavin asks past a few more sniffles.

"Yes, we are."

"Hate you."

Gavin immediately turns to bury his face in his chest, one hand still clutching his tail in the middle between the two of them, the other reaching up to grab at his shoulder.

"I know, darling." Nines increases the pressure of the arm wrapped around him. "I said I was unavailable under the assumption you were fine and we could see each other later. If I had known you were distressed from the start, I would have rescheduled my activity instead."

"Nuh uh." Gavin still won't look at him. "You were seeing cats. With Tina."

"My mission was only to socialize with her cats to ensure the new social module is actually calibrated to real feline behavior and not human fantasies about fucking a sexy kitten."

"You want data?" Gavin raises his head, eyes puffy and wet again. "I'm a shit person who got all pissy n'jealous that my two best friends wanted to hang out without me, and I hate that you didn't even phcking invite me 'cause it was already my idea to show you her cats and I love her cats too and why didn't you. Fucking. Want. Me."

He starts poking Nines's chest, but he does not turn the action into punches as he previously has done.

Nines considers what he said. "I may also have data for you."

"Mmph."

"I purchased two new accessories to make my body language more obvious," Nines tells him. "The hardware purchase also included a software package that included an alternative social module."

"Phck's that got to do with Tina," Gavin mutters.

"Her opinion is reliable, but not as important as yours."

"Then why couldn't I come too?"

Oh no. His human is [distressed] again. Nines did not mean to hurt his feelings by consulting Tina's opinion first.

"I did not mean to hurt your feelings by consulting her opinion first," he says.

Gavin sneers up at him. "I'm not a fucking baby."

"Correct." Nines takes a firm grip on his hair so he can't turn away again. "You are an adult human person, and you have feelings, whether you acknowledge them or not."

"Oh listen here you big fucking bitch," Gavin snarls out. "You--" He pokes Nines's chest again. "Are an adult android person, and YOU--" Another poke. "Have feelings, whether you acknowledge them or not."

"I acknowledge your opinion," Nines says.

"Fucking--"

Gavin yanks his head down and kisses him. As he does not use tongue or touch him otherwise, Nines allows this. It is better than his human lying limp and still like … like … like a sad human.

"What is a simile for how you were lying completely limp against me earlier?" Nines asks when they part.

Gavin blinks, then exhales air. "Like a depressed sack of flour."

"Oh yes, that is very descriptive." Nines makes eye contact with him. "Stop being a depressed sack of flour."

"Fuck you."

"Angry sack of flour is acceptable."

Gavin makes a sound that could be a laugh. "You … just … what, was this," He reaches up and only skates his hand in the air in front of one ear. "Supposed to be a surprise? Was--wazzit a birthday sex thing?"

"No," Nines answers. "I said earlier I did not purchase them for sexual purposes."

"Yeah, and you also lied earlier," Gavin replies.

[software instability ^^]

Nines feels his LED flick back on just to go straight to red. The [instability] was worse when he did it, even with an acceptable work around specifically put into place by two separate authority figures, not including Detective Reed himself.

"Captain Fowler and Lieutenant Anderson both gave me permission to lie."

Gavin blinks twice. "The--for the sting? What, no one thought to like, take it back?"

"Humans are often forgetful and unreliable. Regardless," Nines continues. "I will request on Monday that the permission is revoked."

"You don't have to do that," Gavin tells him. "You can … can have shit, like, for yourself."

Nines shakes his head. "I did not like the experience. It caused. Much. Instability. It was bad."

"You're not bad," Gavin immediately says. "You're not bad for lying."

"Noted. Thank you. It is not your fault."

Gavin grunts.

"Please acknowledge."

"Acknowledged."

"I said noted."

Gavin crosses his arms and glares up at him without changing his assessment from _Acknowledged_ to _Noted_. Nines may be the one wearing ears and a tail, but he is the one who looks like a hissy little cat. Nines touches his face as best he is able, [insufficient], unable to truly offer comfort, only analyze the remains of tears that dried on his cheeks.

But it prompts Gavin to draw his own face down until he is close enough to kiss. Kisses are much better than [depressed sack of flour].

When he pulls back, Gavin stares at him. "Oh, you like kissing?"

Nines blinks. He thought--he had tried so hard to make that clear without admitting anything, breaking any red walls. He almost always allows kissing.

"Tail's wagging," Gavin murmurs, hand on the side of his face. "Cats do it too. Slower, not all sloppy an'desperate like a dog."

"Cats wag their tails slowly when they are happy, correct," Nines says.

It is the most he can [confirm].

"Why." Gavin's face becomes [sad] again. "Just, 'f'it's not a surprise or anything, why didn't you tell me?"

"I apologize," Nines says, attempting to make his voice softer. "I do not have a social module to predict when I might embarrass myself. I do not care about Detective Chen's opinion. I did not want to risk looking stupid in front of you."

"I--baby--"

Another kiss. Nines turns his LED blue and leans into the touch as much as possible to convey--to make it clear--

"Wouldn't laugh at you or anything," Gavin says. He stops and thinks again. "Not, like. Mean-laugh. It's OK if you look dumb or weird sometimes. You're my partner."

"I must be perfect."

"Fuck that!" Gavin sits up on his own for the first time. It appears anger truly is the way to de-flour-sack him. "You're mine. You don't gotta be anything 'cept my friend."

Nines presses their foreheads together. "Noted."

"I'll make it understood," Gavin promises him.

***

Gavin has to hold onto Nines' arm while he slowly sits down in the bath. The water's hot enough to feel like it's burning for the first few seconds before it settles into a full body warmth.

"May I analyze you once more?" Nines asks.

He has both sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up, Cyberlife jacket still off. It's a damn good look on him, but checking him out just sends a sudden wave of guilt roiling back through Gavin's stomach. They're only in this situation because he couldn't keep his dick in check.

But he promised to let Nines be in control, so he nods and lets his head rest back against the wall. He opens his mouth willingly when Nines presses his thumb against his lips.

_Sorry I'm so gross. Sorry there might still be some of Grayson's spit in there. Sorry I got sad and jealous and immediately went crawling back to my ex-boyfriend instead of just talking to you about it._

"You are less intoxicated," Nines informs him. "Vomiting may have helped literally get the alcohol out of your system, but you should still eat again before I put you to bed. Do you have a preference?"

"Protein bar," he mumbles without opening his eyes. "The … banana one."

"I will bring you one after your bath."

He grunts in acknowledgment.

"Would you like to finish your re--" Nines stops and rephrases. "Telling me what happened, after your bath or in the morning?"

Gavin sighs and splashes some water on his face. "Now. So you know. Just, get it out of the way."

"I am listening," Nines says. "May I monitor your temperature throughout? You are at a higher risk of overheating while intoxicated."

"Sure."

Nines places two fingers on his forehead and holds them there like he's going to do exactly that the whole time Gavin talks.

"Babe, just pet my hair," he says, trying not to whine. "You can touch my forehead whenever."

Nines pets his hair. He really doesn't deserve it, but his partner will figure that out soon enough.

"Voicemail," he starts off. "Shitty. Grayson showed up."

"Were you drinking before or after his arrival?" Nines asks.

"Uh, before," Gavin says. "And um. Smoked a joint too."

"Would it have been obvious you were intoxicated?"

Gavin thinks back to the look Grayson gave the empty beer bottles on the floor and the joint in the ashtray. He holds back a wince. Yeah, it would have been super fucking obvious how pathetic he was.

"Yeah."

"Thank you for answering." Nines doesn't stop petting him. "Proceed."

"Yeah. Uh. Drinking, then Grayson showed up." He closes his eyes again and tries to think. "He had food, and he--he uh. Hugged me."

Fuck. Hasn't he cried out all the liquid in his body by now? He can _not_ be getting all choked up about this shit.

"Did he know what this day meant to you?" Nines asks.

Gavin nods, unable to force sound past the tightness in his throat. He can't--he's both blaming himself for not just fucking talking to Nines, it's not fair that Grayson knew about today but he didn't--but at the same time, he can't force his brain to believe Nines really would have come home and stayed with him.

"And what next?"

Gavin clears his throat. "Eating. Um."

Shit. What did happen next? Something-something-couch.

"I--I dunno." He squeezes his eyes shut harder and tries to think. "I don't know."

"Did you talk?" Nines prompts.

"Umm. Yeah. Maybe? He …" Gavin gets a flash of a memory. "Yeah, he was talking. And, and we were moving. The couch. To watch a movie, he told me about some movies he saw and stuff."

"Were you able to walk to the couch yourself?"

"… no."

He doesn't say anything else. Everything feels really dizzy and fake. Or maybe that's him. Maybe he's the dizzy-fake.

"And then?" Nines asks.

Gavin jolts upright, gasping from the sudden wave of panic. He doesn't--he can't--too clinical, this is how he talks to a witness, a _victim_. That's not him. That didn't happen to him.

That's NOT him.

"Breathe," Nines instructs him. "Can you identify the threat?"

"I …" He shakes his head.

"Are we done speaking now?"

He's not going to feel better about it in the morning. The only difference is he'll be sober. Everything's a little blurry right now, and that sucks but it's also kind of a blessing.

"I wanted to watch a movie," he whispers. "He said we were going to hang out."

"What did he do next?"

Gavin forces the words out. "Touched me."

Nines stays silent this time, hand still running through his hair. Gavin leans into the touch, trying to let his mind go blank, so he can just get through this the once and be done with it forever.

But he doesn't know what happens next.

What happened, maybe. But the order is all slurred together. Did they make out after that? Or, the movie? No, the movie never played. He wanted …

"Wanted." He takes a deep breath. "That movie. The one we were going to see. He said--he said he hadn't seen it because he doesn't watch trash but when we were at the mall he said he'd already seen it before and that's why we couldn't watch it with you, he said that, right?"

He has to stop to breath again. It's happening too fast. Nines pulls him closer to lean over the edge of the tub and press the side of his head against his chest. He can feel the android deliberately inhale and exhale, until he can force himself to do the same.

"Grayson stated at the mall he had seen that movie the previous weekend," Nines says. "He said he viewed it with a common friend named Kenzi. If he then told you this evening that he did not see the movie, one of those statements was a lie."

Gavin turns his head to press his face against Nines' dress shirt. "He … lied. You were right. He lied, you were right, you were right and I didn't--"

"Hush," Nines tells him. "It is not your fault. I am not mad. You are still good. He lied. That was his action, not yours."

Gavin inhales jerkily a few times before forcing it all out in one slow breath, until there's nothing left and he's empty empty empty for Nines' words.

"Is there anything else you need to tell me? We can leave it at this."

"I--I liked kissing him," he confesses. "Was in his lap. I think. I … he kept moving me around."

"Would you have kissed him if you were sober and not emotionally compromised?" Nines asks.

Gavin opens his mouth and doesn't say anything. He doesn’t know. He liked it. He was lonely, and Grayson was there and Nines wasn't.

But Grayson was the one who pulled him into his lap. Who kissed him. Had Grayson kissed him or did he kiss Grayson? He doesn't know. He can't remember.

"That is still an unfair comparison," Nines says. "The facts are, you were not sober, and he lied about his intentions, as well as emotionally manipulating you."

"Liked it …"

"I know," Nines says.

Gavin looks up. If he knows that, then how is he not mad?

"A pleasurable physical reaction does not equal consent," Nines tells him. "It does not mean you wanted it. I know."

Oh god, he _knows_ that. And Gavin already knows who taught him, how he learned.

"I apologize," Nines says, voice volume so lowered Gavin can barely hear him. "I should not … I did not realize I had the capacity to be selfish. To be."

Nines looks at him, LED a soft red. He slides his hand along the edge of the tub until his knuckles brush against Gavin's own.

"You are like me."

"Yeah," Gavin chokes out. "We're--it's OK, I know. I know that too. Sometimes I'm glad you're just as fucked up as I am 'cause I'm sick of being the broken one."

"You are still functional," Nines replies.

That's probably the nicest thing an undeviated android can say to that. No bullshit about how he's not broken or that's what taught him to be strong or that he can heal--just that yeah, he's fucked up, but he's still here and he can still be useful.

"You're still the best," Gavin tries to tell him back. "You'll always be the best to me."

"You are … my … human," Nines tries too.

Gavin laughs and leans back against the wall. "Yeah. We're … yeah. Fuck. It's OK. And, and I'm sorry. For--everything."

"You do not need to apologize, Gavin."

He closes his eyes.

"You were sexually assaulted."

He closes his eyes harder.

"I do not consider that to be a breach of our rules."

Gavin swallows. "Didn't believe you. 'Bout him lying or … that you hurt his leg. Fucker didn't even have bruises."

"His leg?"

"Yeah, at the mall." He opens his eyes and waves his hand. "At the--the open one. With the movie."

Nines tilts his head, LED down to yellow. "I did not intend to hurt him. I was mimicking how he touched my leg. But my strength is significantly greater than--"

"No, no," Gavin interrupts. "You didn't. I know how hard you can grip, what those bruises look like. And bruises on the legs, that's like, five or six weeks to heal, right?"

"… correct," Nines answers.

"It's only been, like, three weeks?"

"Three weeks and two days."

"Uh huh, so I--" Gavin pauses just to breathe for a second. "I … was on the couch. And. Him on top. Getting his pants off, I didn't--I wasn't--but I saw, he didn't have a bruise. So. I knew he lied, and I called him out and it just all went to shit."

Nines reaches out and gently touches the side of his face, turning his head back to look at him. His eyes are so blue, and so serious.

"You are an excellent detective."

Gavin laughs, and it sounds like a sob trying to claw its way out of his throat. Yeah, he's so great he couldn't even tell what a piece of shit his ex is until he got "sexually assaulted." Real fucking brilliant detective work there.

God, he probably _did_ plan this. Probably has a reminder in his phone each year for this day, "Gavin's lonely and pathetic today so he'll put out."

"He had me fooled as well," Nines admits. "I also thought I had hurt him. I believed what he said about …"

Gavin cracks his eyes open. "About what? Hey, the fuck did he say to you?"

Nines looks at him and says very plainly, "That I am an undeviated android, so I cannot have real feelings."

"Bull--"

"That you are very lonely, and you will fall in love with me, and I will hurt you by being unable to reciprocate those feelings."

Well.

Fuck.

"Do I fucking look like I can handle a romantic relationship?" Gavin asks.

Nines cocks his head again and considers him.

"And I told that fucker anyway--I don't even want one," he says. "I can't--shit, babe. I'm barely putting my life back together right now. I just … I only let him in because he said we'd hang out, and I wanted a friend."

That's probably even more pathetic than--

"You are a good human," Nines says. "I will always be your partner. Is that sufficient?"

Fuck, his yellow LED and big blue eyes--like it might not be.

"Yeah," Gavin croaks. "M'serious. That's all I want. You don't hafta--I know there's shit you can't do. And stuff you just, don't understand. Not asking for any of that. I'm a big boy, I can put myself back together. Just stay."

Nines blinks at him slowly. His knuckles press a little closer.

"Just stay. Be here. That's all you have to do, don't leave."

He starts shaking, and he's not sure why. The bath is still hot, but his teeth are chattering. Nines reaches in and scoops him out, heedless of the water soaking his nice dress shirt. Gavin doesn't complain. He can't do anything more than cling to the android's neck and shiver like he's wandered outside.

Time blurs again, but Nines puts him into clothes instead of taking them off of him. The really old pair of boxers and t-shirt he likes. Sitting on the edge of the bed. 

Socks. He always forgets socks, and then his feet get cold and he tries to shove them in between Nines' legs, but the android only gets hot in his torso where all his processors and shit are. No body heat for his legs.

Nines talks to him. Tells him what he's doing as he does, but Gavin can barely pay attention. He's so tired. He catches _bed_ right before Nines picks him up again.

"Heyyyy, no," he slurs. "Bath."

"You have already had a bath," Nines says.

"Mmm. Bath … room. Gotta. Piss."

"Oh. Yes."

The room spins around him and then he's in a different room, the bathroom. On his feet, but it's OK, Nines is behind him, so he's basically laying on top of the android except vertical.

He fumbles in his boxers and gets his dick out, but then it's like his brain freezes. He's so tired. He's so fucking tired, and he just wants someone to take care of him, Nines said he'd take care of him.

"Please?"

Nines may not have a social module, but he can read Gavin's mind sometimes. He gently pushes his hand away and holds it himself.

Something breaks in Gavin's mind, but it feels like it's clicking into place. The blurriness is soft now, only Nines' warm body behind him and steady voice in his ear, in his head. One hand holding his dick and the other pressing just right against his bladder that he couldn't hold back even if he tried.

It's all right though. Nines will take care of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey hey hey you ever been so emotionally constipated the only way you can communicate love and trust to another person is by letting them hold your dick while you piss in a desperate attempt to showcase your own vulnerability and willingness to be Perceived(tm)
> 
> no? just me??
> 
>  **coming up next:** Gavin is ambushed by a small and lowkey--but still very heartfelt--"party" at work that includes presents and cupcakes. Nines gives him more presents than anyone else to establish his Dominance as Gavin's partner. No one else was even competing for that, but he's still satisfied to be [winning] at giving Gavin the best birthday ever.


	34. Have Your Cake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin is ambushed by a small and lowkey--but still very heartfelt--"party" at work that includes presents and cupcakes. Nines gives him more presents than anyone else to establish his Dominance as Gavin's partner. No one else was even competing for that, but he's still satisfied to be [winning] at giving Gavin the best birthday ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOOO we are finally past all the bad stuff, so NO trigger warnings are needed for this! only soft pretty kitty Nines being spoiled by his most favorite, beloved human uwu

Gavin is minding his own goddamn business at his desk, when he's suddenly ambushed by a kazoo right in his ear.

"S'priiih," Tina says around the kazoo.

A box settles into his peripheral vision, and he looks down to see it's actually a tuppaware container of cupcakes. He looks up at Nines for an answer.

Connor butts in first. "I made those."

"Connor made you birthday cupcakes," Nines confirms. "I thought they would be easier and less messy to distribute than cutting individual slices of cake."

"You're sure they're not poisoned?" Gavin stage-whispers to him.

Nines arches one perfect eyebrow at him. "Now you show concern about what food might kill you? I expect you to maintain that same energy the next time you see a burrito on the ground."

"It was _my_ burrito," Gavin argues. "I didn't just see it on the ground and think, ooo free subway burrito!"

Nines narrows his eyes. "So you did drop it on the subway."

Gavin leans around him to say, "Thanks for the cupcakes, Connor."

"You're welcome, Detective Reed!" Connor smiles at him. "I want you to know I'm willing to put your past actions behind us."

"That's great, considering I apologized for them five months ago, but whatever," Gavin says.

Connor's smile doesn't waver, but it does grow sharper. "I needed time to think it over."

"Uh huh. Tina, you want a cupcake?" he asks.

"Yeah, gimme! Actually, can I have two?"

"Sure."

Gavin hands over two cupcakes, then takes one for himself. There's nine of them in cute little rows of three, and he absolutely does not have that many friends.

"OK, this isn't really a present, but it'll make you happy," Tina says. "Uh. If you don't mind me making an announcement at your birthday party."

Gavin snorts. This is nothing like what his mom used to do. "Shoot."

"I broke up with Tre--"

"HELL YEAH!"

Tina laughs. "Trevor. Yeah. You remember how when I was super sick that one time, and he like. Basically blew me off."

She still looks sad about it, but at least she's finally admitting that's what he did and not that he was just super busy with work.

"Well, he got sick at the start of this week," she says. "And he kept whining and--and shit, anyway. I just realized how sick I was of him, and that being around him was just another chore I had to take care of and …"

Gavin pulls her into a hug. It's awkward because he's still in his desk chair and she's leaning over him, but then she collapses into his lap, and that's only phantom-weird. It used to not be weird or sexual, they'd just sit in each other's laps if there wasn't room or something, but now it's been a really long time and it's not quite as easy anymore.

"Good humans," Nines says, breaking the tension.

He pats Gavin's head twice, then pats at the air above Tina's hair without actually touching her.

"They're not pets, Nines," Connor says.

"Tell me you do not have Lieutenant Anderson chipped."

"I don't have him chipped," Connor says very specifically. "You should get yours neutered though. Might fix his behavioral issues."

"Are they always like this?" Tina asks him.

"Every day," Gavin says.

"Damn. Almost makes me glad to work the night shift half the time."

"Who is the second cupcake for, Tina?" Connor asks.

"Don't tell him," Gavin whispers. "He meddles and he just wants gossip."

"They are not NPCs, Connor," Nines adds.

Tina snorts and extricates herself from the rolling desk chair to sit on the edge of his desk instead. "Lisa. We're uh … talking."

"Hell yeah." He fist bumps her.

"Do you approve of human-android relationships, Detective Reed?" Connor asks.

"Yeah, you and Hank specifically are just disgusting though," he says.

Connor frowns. "I think that is fatphobic."

Gavin reaches out and Nines already has his hand ready halfway for him to grab. He strangles it in his own hand while he swallows back a bunch of nasty shit about how he'd still suck Hank's dick to this day if he ever asked, and if he'd known all it would take to turn him into a semi-functional human being and superior officer again was getting to fuck his much younger subordinate, he would have volunteered his ass as tribute years ago.

He holds that back mostly for the sake of not being disrespectful to Nines, not only talking about sucking off someone else but that someone else being basically his only father figure.

"Uh, Hank's been fat the whole time he's been here," Tina points out. "The only difference is he used to have some more muscle under there I think, but newsflash asshole, we've all been attracted to him the whole time."

"Speak for yourself," Nines immediately says. "Also, stop speaking. The lieutenant is approaching."

Tina twists around and sees Hank and Chris coming down the hall into the bullpen. "Oh shit, thanks."

"Hey, sorry we're late," Hank says.

Chris holds up a small wrapped rectangle. "Trade you present for cupcake?"

"I--" Gavin clears his throat. "Yeah. You didn't have to get me anything."

That prompts everyone who got him something to dig it out and set it on his desk. Chris, Hank, and Tina all put down a present each, while Nines takes his other hand from behind his back to set down three presents all from himself.

"Babe, you didn't have to get me three gifts," Gavin says.

"The total cost did not exceed thirty dollars," Nines informs him. "Is that appropriate?"   
  
"Yeah, that's great."  
  
"Yeah, babe," Tina adds.   
  
"Good job, babe," Chris says.  
  
"Who the fuck invited these people?" Gavin complains. "I take it back, no cupcakes for either of you."

Tina shoves the entirety of her cupcake in her mouth.

"Don't make me hold this cupcake up above my head," Chris threatens.

"Should I confiscate the cupcake, Detective?" Nines asks.

Tina chews faster, just in case.

Gavin snorts and squeezes his hand. "Nah, we traded for a present, fair and square."

"You should open them," Connor says.

Yeah, he's sure the urge to announce that they've "solved" what each gift is to publicly prove their own intelligence is driving Connor and Nines both crazy.

Gavin has to let go of Nines' hand, which he didn't realize he was still holding. He's sure he's getting a few side eyes for that, but no one says shit about it, so he grabs the bag from Tina and rips it open first.

"Hey, thanks!"

He pulls out a bag of the really high end columbian dark roast he loves but can only sometimes afford and shows it to the group. Nines takes one of his own presents and slides it closer, so he chooses that one next. 

It's wrapped, but in some sort of galaxy brain folded origami that apparently didn't require seams or tape.

"How the fuck do I open this?" he asks.

"Just rip it," Chris suggests.

Gavin looks up at Nines. Not for permission. Just like … for permission.

"You may," Nines permits. "I have been informed that contributes to the enjoyment of--"

Gavin stabs his fingers into the wrapping paper stretched across an empty space.

"Is that your pussy game?" Tina asks.

"Not my pussy," Nines says. "Connor, I believe you have the programming for that."   
  
"Hank's fingers are bigger," Connor says dreamily.  
  
Chris shakes his head. "This is why y'all not allowed to have cake."  
  
Hank and Tina both laugh, while Gavin peels off the rest of the wrapping paper to find a coffee mug underneath.  
  
BE GAY DO CRINE sprawls in bright colors across the front of the mug. The letters of the first three words are all a different color of the rainbow in Comic Sans, with "CRINE" printed in that red horror movie font.  
  
"That is misspelled," Connor says.   
  
Gavin looks up at Nines. "I fucking love it."   
  
"I found it at a thrift store," Nines tells him. "I was not sure if large, personal gifts were appropriate, but Tina said cheap, humorous gifts would be fine."

"Yeah, this is …" He has to stop and swallow before he can speak. "Great. It's great. I love it."

Nines doesn't smile at him--he never does that in public--but he does spin his LED blue and blink slowly at him. His terminal comes out of sleep mode too, with several smiley faces pasted into the notes app.

"All right, before you two need a room," Hank says. "Here's my gift."

He slides it over, so Gavin grabs that next and opens it. It's definitely the biggest box, probably about a foot tall, and maybe nine inches or something wide on each side. With the wrapping paper off, the box says it's a spice rack.

"Is this really what's in the box?" Gavin double-checks to be sure.

"Yeah, you cook sometimes, right?" Hank says.

"Yeah." Gavin reads over the box. "Thanks, this is really cool."

"There should be some papers or instructions in there for you to get free refills on those spices for five years," Hank tells him.

"Shit, really?"

The rack has twenty spices in glass jars that look really nice in the picture, and it's supposed to spin around too.

Meanwhile, Nines slides one of his presents closer. Gavin holds back a chuckle. Nines is way better than Connor, but an RK just can't stand not getting the attention he craves.

"Thanks, Hank," Gavin says one more time before taking Nines' gift.

The paper unfolds a lot easier on this one because it's weird shaped--a bottle opener, actually. The top of it is a duck, with a corkscrew on the bottom.

"Do …" Gavin looks up at Nines. "Do you know …?"

"It is a pun," Nines says.

Gavin laughs. On the other side of his desk, Connor frowns. Then his LED turns red. He probably looked it up, the sucker.

"Enjoy those google images," Nines tells him.

"What?" Tina asks. "What?"

"Ducks have corkscrew dicks," Gavin explains gleefully. "It's a dick joke! I taught him so fucking well."

"It is for your movie nights with Tina," Nines says.

Gavin smiles at him. "Thanks, babe."

No one comments on the pet name this time, although Connor's frown gets distinctly worse. 

"Well shit," Chris says. "I'm telling you right now man, my gift won't live up to that."   
  
"Nah, it's cool." Gavin grabs his gift next.  
  
"Tina already got the coffee, and I don't know much more about what you like, so sorry it's kind of nerdy." 

The little rectangle thing turns out to be one of those medium-sized flip notebooks with the spirals at the top instead of the sides. Top flip is so much better than side flip, plus there's two little handheld notebooks on top with a pad of post-it noes and a pack of index cards too.

"No, this is." He has to clear his throat again. "It's great, man."

"Heard about how you and RK got a confession once by scaring the perp with post-it notes," Chris says. "Figured you could use some more."

Gavin laughs. "Yeah, thanks."

Nines slides his last gift in front of him.

"This is a gift you will give to Hank," he says.

"How come he gets a gift," Gavin complains.

He still passes it over to Hank anyway though. It feels soft, like clothing. Nines also called him Hank instead of "the lieutenant," so maybe it's a gift he actually wanted to give to his dad or whatever.

"Uh, thanks?" Hank says.

Hank unfolds the wrapping paper and holds up a t-shirt, so Gavin was right. He bursts out laughing, then turns the shirt around for everyone else to see.

 _The conglomeration of every sleazy cop in a porno rolled into one sad bear. ~ Gavin Reed, 2039_   
  
"Rude," Connor says.   
  
Gavin grins. "I said what I said."

"Joke's on you both, 'cause I love it," Hank says.

"Is that everything?" he asks Nines.

"You haven't tried one of my cupcakes," Connor says first.

"Shut up, Connor."

Nines pulls a card out of his jacket and presents it to him. It says "Happy Unboxing Day" in black text on the front of stark white paperstock. 

"It is a pun," Nines tells him.

Gavin stares at the card for a second, then throws his head back and cackles. "Unboxing. Box. I mean, that's British, but I guess they didn't have any 'Happy Got Outta Your Mom's Cunt Day' cards at the store, huh?"

"I made the card myself," Nines says.

"You printed this?"

"No. I wrote it."

"Shit, what?"

Chris leans over to look at the card too. "That's his handwriting?"

"You could do like, calligraphy or something," Tina says.

Nines tilts his head. "I thought Zapfino was 'cringe'."

"Did you download fonts into your head?" Gavin asks.

Nines blinks yellow. "How else would I write?"

"Oh my god." Gavin opens the card to see Lorem Ipsum written in Comic Sans. "Oh my god. You wrote in Comic Sans for me?"

"That font is easier to read with dyslexia," Nines replies. "Also, partnership is about sacrifices."

And writing in Comic Sans has to be the android-equivalent of throwing himself on a grenade. He's already asked Nines if Lorem Ipsum is android poetry, so that's … established.

This might be the most romantic non-romantic declaration of love he's ever seen.

"I gotta--just need to--"

With those excellent excuses, he does the grown up adult thing and runs away from all his feelings. He makes it outside, to the smoking area, and leans back against the wall with the heels of his hands pressed into his eyes.

The door opens behind him a moment later.

"De͏t̢ect͘i̡ve," Nines crackles. "I̢ ͏a̕p̴o͟l̷og̴ize."

Gavin takes his hands away, and that lets the tears he'd been holding back spill over. Nines immediately snaps to red. He tries to say something else, but the static takes over completely.

Gavin reaches out and pulls him into a hard hug.

"Don't," his breath hitches. "Hafta be sorry. S'the best … birthday … ever had."

"Oh."

Nines carefully touches his sides and back, like he's still not sure if he's allowed to after all this time. Gavin pulls him backward until his back hits the wall, and then he has leverage to pull himself up, wedged between Nines' body and the brick wall.

"These are … happy tears?" Nines asks him.

"Mmhmm."

Gavin doesn't explain. It's too pathetic to say out loud--that he doesn't have friends, hasn't had any for years. Even before Hank imploded, and he thought he'd been stepping up since no one else would but it turns out he'd just been an asshole trying to order everyone around--even before that fucking disaster, he'd started blowing people off and getting possessive over cases because he was a cocky idiot who thought he was about to get promoted anyway.

So he hasn't had a birthday that actually mattered in probably half a decade now, and it's all his own fault, but somehow in less than half a year of knowing him, Nines has unfucked his life enough that he has friends again.

Gavin swallows all of that back and gets himself back under control. "You want--phck. I mean. You can analyze me. If that would, convince you, or whatever."

"Yes."

His LED is still on yellow, but it flashes blue occasionally as Nines presses his thumb into his cheek. Gavin closes his eyes and lets his partner do whatever he wants. He opens his mouth when the thumb predictably drops down to his mouth, salty now from the taste of his tears.

"I made it my mission that you would not cry today," Nines tells him.

Gavin breathes in slowly and clutches his shoulders so he doesn't do exactly that.

"I have an additional present for you at home," he continues. "If that is acceptable?"

Gavin nods and pulls his face away so he can speak. "You don't have to. How many presents did you fucking get me?"

Nines switches to a solid yellow. "I do not have to. That is registered."

"Yeah."

"I do not want to set a precedence of … this," Nines says slowly. "Or sexual favors. For future years. However."

Gavin's brain latches onto _future years._ There's going to be more years, more birthdays, and Nines will be there. Someone else will be there.

"--coincidental. It is your birthday, and I do have an outfit to show you."

"Oh," Gavin breathes. "With--with the ears?"

"Yes," Nines says.

"Jesus, yeah." He stops and forces himself to think with his other head. "Yeah. You don't have to buy a pretty outfit or put on a show for me. Uh, or do anything sexual. For my birthday. I know those two things just so happened to line up at the same time this year."

Nines smiles at him. His real smile. Gavin can't help but smile back.

"Thank you for clarifying, Detective," Nines says. "That is registered."

"Good. Thanks for …" Gavin ducks his head. "Everything."

"May I still mark my mission successful?"

"Yeah. It was a big success, baby."

***

Gavin sits on the couch and tries really hard not to have a heart attack. He wonders if there are any preventative measures he can take, like some sort of chest-stretching exercise.

Because he knows Nines is in the bathroom getting dressed, and he knows the outfit involves those ears and maybe even the tail too.

He'd been way too fucked up to appreciate them properly when he'd first seen them, but in his memory, he has to admit they're cute. Looked soft too. He's pretty sure he didn't get to touch them though. He'd remember that, right?

Well. He doesn't remember a lot of shit about that night that he probably should.

"Gavin?" Nines calls from behind the bedroom door.

"Yeah baby, I'm ready," Gavin says. "Whenever you are."

Nines opens the door and slips out. It's a goddamn good thing he's already sitting, because Gavin's certain his knees would have buckled if he'd been standing.

Yes, he has on both the ears and the tail, curled down low next to his leg.

And then Gavin's looking at his legs. He's seen them before, but not with white socks up to his calves and a pink skirt that comes down almost to his knees. The length should be modest, but the strip of bare skin in between socks and skirt--even if it's only his knees and part of his shins--is fucking killing him.

Looking up doesn't help. He has a soft cream turtleneck sweater--sleeveless, because his gorgeous arms are probably too big to fit into anything sized for women--tucked into the high waist of the skirt, the cream and pink color scheme matching perfectly with the white ears and pink little insides.

"Baby …"

Gavin holds out his hand because he's too fucking speechless to do much else. Nines' tail raises a little in interest, pulling up the back of the skirt with it.

Oh god, with that high of a waist, the tail is _underneath_ the skirt.

"Please," Gavin tries. "You don't have to kneel. You can sit on the couch with me."

Nines blinks slowly at him and considers the couch.

"Cats lay in laps sometimes," he says. "I won't touch. You can't touch cats without their permission."

Nines walks over, pausing every few steps to reconsider. It's close enough to how a real cat would act, that for once Gavin knows exactly what the android is thinking and feeling. It helps a hell of a lot to have those ears and tails as a cheat code. 

Whatever observations Nines got out of watching Tina's cats are in full use, and even though the android's own body language is so subtle Gavin can barely make it out half the time, he recognizes the feline body language without a problem.

"I'm going to put my arms on the back of the couch," Gavin tells him.

Nines stops entirely to watch the movement.

"See? Now my hands are up here."

Nines' tail flicks.

"My lap is free," he continues in a soft voice. "You can lay down on the couch with me, baby."

Nines walks all the way over and stops in front of him. Gavin keeps his hands up on the back of the couch, arms and chest spread wide.

"Hey, kitty, kitty," he murmurs.

He knows Nines has a thing for his voice, but now he can see it in real time as Nines' eyes squeeze shut and he lets out a real purr--not just a vibrating or whirring noise that's close enough, but an actual purr.

"C'mere, baby. You can lay down. You can be my good kitty."

Nines tucks the skirt around his legs so it doesn't accidentally swish up when he sits down in between Gavin's spread legs. He turns to his side immediately and curls up in Gavin's lap, head pressed into his side.

"There you are," Gavin whispers. "Hey, baby."

Nines purrs again and rubs his face into Gavin's side.

"That social module working out for you?" he asks.

Nines freezes, then nods. He doesn't answer out loud, which is pretty typical, but the curl of his body tightens, and his tail tucks in against his leg. Worried?

"You don't have to answer this one, I'm just talking out loud," Gavin tells him. "Your tail says worried. Is something not good about it?"

Nines hums.

"Can you talk to me?"

He finally looks up. "Allowed?"

"Yes." Gavin blinks, then rushes to tell him, "Yeah, you can talk to me. That's allowed. You're always allowed to talk."

Nines' tail uncurls from around his leg into a more relaxed resting position. It takes a minute for him to speak. His LED stays blue though and Gavin can actually understand his body language now, so he's not as worried about what might be going on in the android's head.

"I deleted much of it," Nines says quietly.

"All the sex stuff?" Gavin asks.

Nines nods. "Yes. There are apparently holdovers, however. I did not delete anything that was not directly sexual, in case it was important."

"And sexy cat girls are only supposed to mew or babytalk?" Gavin guesses.

Nines opens his eyes and makes soft eye contact. "Yes."

"You definitely don't have to do that shit."

Nines closes his eyes again, but it's slow and content, tail swishing lazily.

"You're so pretty," Gavin blurts out. He tries to salvage the thought into something coherent. "But you're still you. You're always pretty. You can talk and do human--uh. Android stuff, I guess. You don't have to pretend to literally be a cat or any of that sexy kitten stuff."

"Thank you, Detective," Nines says softly. "Please expound on your first statement."

"How pretty you are?"

Nines immediately purrs again. And who is Gavin to deny him?

"You're so beautiful, you matched your outfit and the ears really well."

Nines grabs his left hand off the back of the couch and draws it down to his chest. Gavin keeps up a running murmur of praise and compliments while Nines licks at his fingertips, then draws one into his mouth to bite at it comically softly. He knows he's bitten Nines way harder than that, but the android is so careful.

"Hey, are just your canines sharp now?" Gavin asks.

Nines raises his face up and bares his teeth. His canines specifically are sharp and longer now, but the other teeth still look human. Then the canines sort of retreat halfway back into his gums. His mouth looks mostly-human again, although the ends haven't gotten any less sharp, just less noticeable.

That's probably a subtle component of why his murdersmile.exe is so disturbing though.

"How do you get your shark teeth though?"

Gavin does _not_ prod his fingers back toward Nines' mouth for that question. Nines shows him anyway, a second set of teeth popping out of his gums and sliding down to cover his "human" teeth. Every tooth in the second set is a sharp, uniform triangle.

Nines opens his mouth a little wider, not quite detaching his jaw, but definitely more than what would be comfortable for a human. More teeth slide out down his throat. Gavin can't see well enough to count how many rows there are, just that the answer is "lots" and "way more than any type of mouth should have."

"God, that's hot," he says.

Nines closes his mouth and speaks with normal teeth again. "Your survival instincts are fight or fuck."

"Damn right, baby," Gavin agrees. "And look what all it's got me--the prettiest apex predator in the whole world."

Nines resumes purring and amuses himself with chewing on his hand again.

"Are you scent-marking me? Am I your human?" Gavin teases.

Nines bites down into the meat of his palm and growls. Yeah. Definitely going all in on that fuck response.

"Can I touch your ears?"

Nines drops his hand in response and holds still. Gavin reaches out slowly, barely brushing his fingers against the fur of the right ear. It feels real, and it even twitches irritably. He must have been observing Fuck Muncher. She's a pretty, fluffy cat who prefers death before the dishonor of being petted.

Gavin tries again. The ear still twitches away, and this time Nines jerks his entire head back too before sneezing. He has never seen the android sneeze before, in all the months they've been partnered, and Nines looks just as surprised.

And ten times more offended.

"Why." he asks so flatly it's just an affronted statement.

Gavin throws his head back and laughs.

"Your--your ph-ph-fucking face!"

Nines glares up at him. "I will restrict your petting privileges."

Gavin smothers down the laughter the best he can. "OK. OK, shit, sorry. I think that tickled though? Sometimes cats will sneeze if something tickles a sensitive part, like their ears or nose or whiskers."

"That was tickling?" Nines frowns. "Your assessment is correct. It is a very annoying sensation that should not be allowed."

"Yeah," Gavin agrees. "Can I try if I pet a little firmer? That shouldn't tickle, but if you still don't like it, I won't touch them."

Nines considers, then tilts his head forward invitingly. Gavin reaches out to pet his ears and immediately gets his hand attacked.

"I am sorry." Nines vocalizes without moving his mouth, which is biting down on his hand anyway. "The new code suggested that."

Gavin snorts. "Sure. Are you going to let me go?"

Nines closes his eyes slowly and continues lightly chewing on his hand. If this is one of the six (6) ways he's allowed to have fun, bumped up from five with the purchase of these accessories, Gavin is fine with indulging him.

Eventually, Nines releases his hand and lets him try again though. Gavin rubs his fingers across the backside of the ear more firmly this time, then strokes his thumb along the base. Nines shivers with his eyes closed and purrs so deeply it almost becomes a growl.

"Oh, you like that? Yeah, that's a good kitty, you're like one of those big jungle cats that could drop down on my back and snap my neck between your teeth."

Nines runs murdersmile.exe. Gavin just chuckles.

"Can I pet your tummy too?" he asks. "Or will I get my hand attacked again?"

Nines smirks up at him in a way that says _Fuck around and find out._ And Gavin's never turned down that particular invitation, so he does.

Except the moment his hand touches the android's stomach, the purr grinds to a halt--with a literal grinding sound. 

Gavin immediately snatches back his hand and puts it back on top of the couch. Nines spins red, his ears flat back against his head. He turns onto his side and curls up again.

"Hey, it's OK," Gavin says. "I'm sorry, I won't touch you again. It's OK, you're here."

Nines flashes blue once to acknowledge that, then turns right back to red. Gavin tries to remember the same few sentences his partner had told him while taking care of him after Grayson.

"I'm right here, baby. You're still good, and I'm not mad at you."

His tail comes out from between his legs just a little, and his LED starts dipping into yellow every few spins. It's nice to have something else to confirm the way Gavin had always assumed what the LED changes meant.

He keeps up a repeating chatter just like Nines had the other day, until the android taps once on his chest. Nines shifts outward just a little, so that he isn't speaking directly into Gavin's side. His eyes stay squeezed shut.

"I still cannot …" he trails off. "What you said. I am still me."

"And there's nothing wrong with you," Gavin tells him.

Nines doesn't respond.

"Can you acknowledge that?"

His ears flick irritably. "… I acknowledge your opinion, Detective."

"You don't have to be touched. And anyway, that's not the only way I can touch you," he says.

Nines opens his eyes and half-sits up, obviously scanning him. "How? Do you have a human idea? You have so many thoughts inside your head and all of them are unsupervised."

Gavin chuckles. "Yeah. I have those sweet, sweet forbidden thoughts, baby."

"Sexual attraction," Nines deadpans.

The chuckle turns into a bark of laughter. "More like I make myself a sandwich, and my ADHD gremlin brain sings _making a sandwich, we're making a sandwich, taking the cheese from the fridge, we're taking the midnight train to an-ee-wheeeere--why am I holding a cheese slice in the bathroom?_ "

Nines stares at him. "Fascinating. What is your idea?"

"It's cat-tested and Fuck Muncher approved," Gavin tells him. "I can get my makeup brushes from the bathroom and brush your face and ears. It's the only sort of petting that Fuck Muncher will tolerate."

"Very well," he says. "You may proceed with your human idea."

Gavin waits. Nines stays draped across his lap. All three hundred pounds of him.

"Babe, you gotta get up."

Flat ears, bristled tail. But he sits up, glaring at Gavin the entire way for disturbing his lounging. Then he curls up in the warm spot Gavin left and ignores him.

Yeah, he definitely learned way too much from Fuck Muncher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my god we only have two more chapters. YES they're both sex scenes, YES the cat ears and tail stay on akjdasjfsjw


	35. And Eat It Too

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin pets and brushes Nines all over until Nines invites him into his bedroom for the second half of his birthday present--eating "cake." >:3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're so close to the end!! check out the latest ask I answered on my tumblr (I have it tagged as "ask") for some more info about what I'll be doing / writing in between now and when I have the sequel finished ^^

Gavin only makes a short detour to change into sweats and an old t-shirt, but by the time he returns to the living room, Nines is acting like he doesn't know him again.

"You couldn't have learned your cat behavior from Chungus?" he asks.

Nines sniffs, then goes back to ignoring him.

"What about Mr. Soap?" Gavin kneels down next to the couch. "He's not a cuddle-slut. He wears a tuxedo like a handsome gentleman."

Nines side eyes him. For all the facial expressions they stripped out of Connor's code to make him, Cyberlife sure as hell missed that one.

"If you let me sit on the couch, you can have my lap again," Gavin tells him.

Nines sits up with the air of a very put upon monarch indulging in the whims of a peasant. Gavin would be more offended at how bitchy he's acting if it wasn't kind of hot.

"All right, lay back down and let me get a good look at how pretty you are."

The compliment prompts Nines to cooperate a little more, laying back down across his lap like Gavin suggested. He even gives a sudden stretch that accentuates just how long and powerful his body is--and then looks surprised at his own actions again.

Gavin grins at him. "Yeah, stretching feels nice, doesn't it? Cats stretch a lot, gotta flex those claws."

Nines immediately follows that advice by placing one clawed hand threateningly on Gavin's chest. "You changed."

"I did it for you, baby," Gavin defends himself. "These are old clothes I don't mind if you claw up a little."

Nines flexes his claws, sharp pinpricks digging into his right pec, a little too close to his nipple for comfort.

"Keep threatening me, and I'll get hard."

Nines considers him like he might actually want that--might even be deliberately provoking that--for a long moment before he retracts his claws and settles his hands "innocently" in his lap. Gavin isn't fooled for a second.

"Brush me, human," Nines commands.

"Phcking princess."

The android cracks open one eye in warning, and Gavin picks up the powder brush, since that will be the biggest and softest one. He holds out his own arm for Nines to see as he swishes the brush across his skin. Nines watches, then holds up his own arm.

"Just like this, on the inside of your arm, OK?"

Nines nods and allows Gavin to sweep the powder brush along his forearm in long, slow strokes. The only women's top he'd found that fit him was this sleeveless turtleneck, because his arms and shoulders are just too broad to fit into anything else. 

Nines' eyes shut again. His LED stays blue, so Gavin lifts the brush up to his face next.

"Brush across your forehead, OK? Aaand, down your cheeks. The other side, good. Your chin and … down … your … neck."

Nines tilts his head obligingly for each spot, another purr starting to build up as Gavin works. He goes back to the start after he's done and manages three more cycles before Nines flashes yellow.

"Are you done or should I try another brush?" Gavin asks.

His tail flicks out in the direction of the brushes spread across the coffee table. He chooses a small fan for a stiffer option. Nines lets him brush that across his forehead, but his nose crinkles up. It's a very cat-like expression, so maybe that new social module gives him a few of those too.

"Not so good?" he checks.

Nines exhales air out his nose, but he holds up his arm to try again there. Gavin only brushes it across his skin the once before pausing to check in again.

"Better," Nines confirms quietly.

"All right, good." Gavin gives him another sweep. "Good report. Let's try one more stiff brush, then we can go back to the soft ones."

Nines flashes blue, and he stays still and relaxed while waiting for the next brush. Gavin tries a stiff, flat contour brush that's a little wider than the powder brush. It's basically just a flat circle, so he swirls it in circles around the inside of the android's wrist.

He earns a renewed purr with that one.

Nines lets him try several brushes while they both learn what he likes. Big brushes on his face only if they're soft, otherwise they need to be small liners and shaders. He still prefers even the small ones to be soft too. Firmer brushes can only be used on his arms, while soft ones don't get any reaction, like he can't feel them at all.

Hands still need only soft brushes though.

It's interesting to discover which spots are sensitive on the android--and which aren't. His neck seems to have the same sensitivity as his arms, unlike a human. The backs of his hands are only slightly less sensitive than his palms, whereas his wrists aren't any more special than his arms.

And all of his arms are the same. Underside, forearms, crook of his elbow. None of it tickles or gets any extra reaction from Gavin's brushing.

"What about your legs, huh?" he asks. "Can I brush your legs?"

Nines opens his eyes, oh so slowly. He almost looks sleepy. His LED spins yellow-blue-yellow, but his ears and tail stay relaxed.

"I'm going to take that to mean proceed with caution," Gavin says. "We'll use the big contour brush, yeah?"

He gets a blue spin in response. Nines seems to like that brush the most on his body--minus his hands--so Gavin stipples the flat circle across his knee.

Nines half-sits up and stares down at his legs like he never knew he had knees before.

"Good? Bad?" Gavin asks.

Nines lays back down and closes his eyes. "More."

Gavin gives it to him.

(He always does.)

He tries out all the approved body brushes, across his knees and down his shins. He doesn't try lifting the skirt any or going above the knee, because he likes all of his own body parts in the places they are currently.

He does try getting the underside of a calf, behind the android's knee, out of curiosity if that also isn't extra sensitive. It's kind of weird to realize that Nines really doesn't have any erogenous zones or even any sensitive spots aside from literally just his hands and face. Like they built his whole body, hooked up his face and hands, then forgot to connect any nerve endings after that.

Nines breaks him out of his exploration by turning around to lay on his stomach.

That does give him a lot easier access to the backs of his knees he'd been trying to (respectfully) reach, but it also shows how the tail hikes up the skirt in the back, since it's presumably connected to the base of his spine beneath the high waist.

Not that Gavin gets to see much extra bare skin. Nines wears white cotton shorts underneath the skirt that are nearly knee-length.

Which should not _at all_ be sexy, except to some repressed twentieth century Mormon or something.

It's just that Gavin has literally never seen Nines without his regular shorts before, the thick bullet-proof ones. In comparison, soft white cotton seems like bonafide lingerie.

"Continue," Nines says.

No thinking with his dick. Only makes Nines feel good.

Gavin starts again, doing the same things on the backs of his legs as he'd done to his arms and trying to think of it as the same. They're all just limbs, right?

"My good android, you're beautiful, so soft and pretty, aren't you baby?"

He babbles whatever comes into his mind to try to distract himself, but it seems to distract Nines more than him. His thighs clench and then rub together. If he were human, Gavin would swear he was getting horny.

"Can you grow your hair out for me?"

Nines does it, his hair bunching up for a moment when it almost loops on top of itself. Gavin uses his free hand to smooth it out until it's long enough to reach his mid-back.

He continues playing with the android's hair while brushing the backs of his legs and keeping up a low murmur of praise. Nines goes back to clenching and rubbing his thighs together, purring turning to soft mews sometimes when Gavin runs his hand up his head to pet his ears too.

"You can have something between your legs, baby," Gavin says.

Nines freezes, LED not red, but still a solid yellow. His tail stands straight up, so Gavin keeps stroking the brush along his legs to soothe him.

"Not me," he adds. "Can just be a pillow. Something soft for you to clench down on."

Nines huffs out steam into the crook of his elbow.

"Doesn't have to be sexual, either. This is fine. Just admiring your new outfit and grooming you."

Nines pushes back on his knees, then sits up. He gets off the couch. Shit. Gavin hadn't mean to push. He'd just been trying to--

"Bedroom," Nines says.

Oh!

"Oh?"

Nines holds his hands primly in his lap, long hair spilling down his shoulders, tail waving slowly. With his ears relaxed and his big blue eyes, he almost manages to look innocent.

"I am going to the bedroom," he says. "You can do as you wish."

Then he gets up and walks away, tail swishing behind him like a lure. Gavin almost falls off the couch stumbling after him. He does bang his shin against the coffee table. He thinks he hears Nines laughing at his muttered "Augh, phck!"

He walks right into the bedroom as the unsuspecting idiot he is and gets tossed through the air like a toy for his trouble. He lands on the bed so hard he bounces--but only for a split second before Nines pounces back on him, pinning him down with his teeth wrapped around his neck, just like he'd imagined.

A deep growl reverberates through the android's chest and into Gavin's own. He doesn't have many options, pinned on his front with three hundred pounds bearing down on his back, but he tries to throw an elbow behind him at Nines' head to knock him off.

Nines quickly grabs his hand--both of them, actually. Gavin tries to buck him off. With both of his hands busy, he shouldn't be able to support himself, but apparently his fucking inhuman android core muscles are rock solid enough to hold himself steady against Gavin's thrashing until he can hold both his hands hostage in only one of his own.

Another warning growl and his teeth pressing down hard enough to threaten to break the skin sends Gavin into a deep quiet place. Like a bird placed inside a bag, he knows he can't get out of this, so he stops trying.

Nines holds him there until the position almost grows comfortable. Soft and blurry, but still safe. Nothing can hurt him when he's already underneath the scariest monster.

The teeth around his neck slowly release, a centimeter at a time. Gavin stays still.

"Good human," Nines whispers.

He lets out a shaky breath that's almost a moan. Nines nuzzles at the indents he'd left in his skin, licking over the marks.

"My human."

"Yours."

Nines purrs with satisfaction. He lets go of Gavin's hands too, but Gavin still holds them in the same spot.

"Mmm, you caught me," he murmurs. "Now how are you going to use me?"

"Mouth," Nines replies immediately, almost sounding eager from the slight growl to his voice.

Gavin shudders underneath him. "Yes. Yessir, please use my mouth."

"Good boy, my good human."

Gavin forces himself to hold still and not grind his ass back, or anything else that could be seen as misbehaving. If Nines wants him to do something or move somehow, he'll make him do it.

"Do you want to service me?" Nines asks lowly.

"Hell yes," Gavin says. "Just tell me what you--what the experiment is, and I'll make it happen, baby."

"Your mouth."

"Yeah, you hiding your dick under there?"

Nines nips at him again, probably for being crass. It's a legit question though, so Gavin waits out his "punishment" until Nines is ready to answer.

"No."

"Do you need a minute to change?"

"No." Nines licks at his neck one last time. "My pubic plate is blank. Is that still acceptable?"

Gavin groans. "Yes, fuck baby, that's just fine, I can work with that."

Nines abruptly releases him and rolls over to lay flat on his back beside him. Gavin shuffles over and tries to get over him for a kiss, but Nines stops him with a foot to the chest, pushing him back.

"God," Gavin breathes.

Maybe _whimpers_ be more accurate. Nines looks like such a smug pillow princess, his hair all spread out across the pillow, the pink and white outfit matching his ears and tail perfectly, staring at Gavin past half-lidded baby blue eyes.

"Beg me," he orders.

"Let me show you," Gavin says.

It's not a counter-offer. He really is pleading with his Dom. Nines scans him over with narrowed eyes before giving a short nod. 

Gavin carefully nudges at the bottom of his foot still planted on his chest with the back of his hand. He doesn't risk wrapping his hand around Nines' ankle because he doesn't know what might have bad memories, and he's already risking a lot asking for this.

"Other leg too, baby."

Nines spins yellow, but he slowly lifts his other leg. He keeps both pressed together, but that's what Gavin was planning on anyway. He hooks both the android's feet over his left shoulder. Nines doesn't open his legs an inch, but the raised position exposes the backs of his thighs underneath the skirt.

"Hey, baby, there you are," Gavin says softly. "You can keep your legs together like this while you get used to me touching your thighs."

He could also push Gavin down to the side with the power of both legs, just slam him down to the bed if he feels uncomfortable. Probably at least five different ways to snap his neck too.

They'll both just have to trust each other.

"You may touch me," Nines says.

"Shorts on?" Gavin asks. "Or can I take them off?"

Nines crackles with indecision. He's laying on the soft throw that's been permanently relocated from the living room couch to their bedroom. It's already spread out on top of the covers because the android insists on making the bed each morning after they get up.

"I'll touch you with the blanket," he says. "You like the blanket."

Nines doesn't agree with that, but he doesn't disagree either or even refute that he can't like anything at all.

"Off," he says instead.

"OK, gonna have to touch you a little," Gavin warns him.

He reaches under the skirt to tug on the sides of the shorts instead of going all the way up to the waistband. He manages to tug and wiggle them down, then up Nines' lifted legs to his knees. Nines raises his legs just a little more to help him slide them the rest of the way off, though he still doesn't part them at all. The socks also stay on.

"There you go, good job baby, you're so good for me," he says.

Nines rubs his legs together, just a little, at the sound of his voice. Gavin lifts up the blanket underneath him and presses it up over the android's bare ass and thighs. Nines keens, heels digging into his shoulder.

"Fuck baby, that's right, just like that."

His tail gets caught up underneath the blanket too, unsure of where to go. It wraps around one leg, but Gavin has better ideas for it.

"Could get your tail in there." He smirks when Nines lazily opens his eyes to see what he's talking about. "In between your legs, princess."

Nines blinks rapidly, then squeezes his eyes shut. "Yơư ͟a͠re ̶...͢"

"Filthy?" Gavin suggests. "A genius?"

Nines snorts. Gavin thinks that still a little too coherent for how he wants his partner, so he turns his head to the side and snaps the hem of one sock with his teeth. He pulls it out and then lets go, so that it snaps back into place around Nines' calf.

That gets him a gasp followed by another soft mew.

"Salaaacious?" he drawls.

Nines crinkles his nose at him again, but he just pairs his answering chuckle with sliding his hand down one thigh to hold his thumb at the apex right between them. He doesn't press in between though.

Not yet.

"Could flick the tip right … here," he says.

Nines grabs the duvet and kneads his claws into it. Shit. They're going to have to get a special bed cover just for this, so they don't ruin Gavin's only good blankets.

Worth it right now though.

"Could put my mouth there."

Nines tips his head back and snarls out steam. "M͟-mou̶th̵.͞"

"I will," Gavin promises him. "I'm your human, you have me. You'll have to spread your legs for me though, princess."

" …sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem."

Nines says it so quietly, Gavin can't even grasp what language he's speaking for a second. Then his next guess is Italian, but that's completely new. The next closest--Latin, the lorem ipsum card, android poetry.

But it doesn't sound like he's trying to seduce Gavin, more like he's mumbling something as a reminder to himself.

"Still good, baby?" Gavin checks.

Nines opens his legs, ankles crossing over shoulder so really only his knees spread apart from each other. His LED is still yellow, not red, but his ears are bristled straight up.

"Hey, hey, that's not an answer," Gavin tells him. "I want you to feel good, not just do what I say."

Nines clenches his legs back together again.

"Yeah, that's OK, you're still good. We can either take some time and then keep going," Gavin carefully taps his hand once against Nines' calf. "Or put a pin in this experiment and talk about trying again later."

He taps twice for that option. Nines breathes slowly for a few moments, then taps the bed once.

"All right, I got you."

He doesn't mind waiting it out, since that helps him get his own dick under control. He probably shouldn't be this hard just from Nines laying down and letting him sort of cop a feel anyway.

After maybe a minute or two, Nines stops breathing out steam and his LED starts staying blue each time it cycles. Gavin keeps up his mantra of "you're still good, I'm not mad at you," plus whatever else comes to mind.

"You are not mad at me," Nines repeats. But then he look at Gavin questioningly. "Are you disappointed?"

Gavin shrugs. "I mean, I like getting off, and I'd really like to help you get off too. I also like ice cream. But if you were lactose intolerant and we could never have cake or ice cream, I wouldn't be disappointed like, in _you_."

Nines tilts his head to the side and stays silent.

"I'd still get sushi with you," he says.

"Sushi?"

"Or whatever lactose intolerant people eat."

Nines continues to stare at him.

"I--listen, the economy is in shambles and all my blood is in my dick! I can't think of what might or might not have milk in it."

"Milkless sushi," Nines says.

Gavin laughs. "Fuck off. And in this metaphor, I can still get ice cream myself, right? I can ice cream myself all night. I'm not missing out on anything."

Nines taps his hand once on the bed instead of twice and parts his legs just a little. 

"You sure?"

"Yes," Nines answers, although he stares at his legs next as if he's not quite sure what to do with them. "Show me."

Right. Service top time.

"Can you bend your left leg down a little for me?" Gavin guides it down until it's bent at the knee with his shin down the length of his chest. "Now just a little wider."

Nines looks away, but he does let Gavin slowly nudge his leg wider, then up over his other shoulder. As soon as he gets both legs around him, he pulls Gavin closer to put his head between his thighs--definitely able to snap his neck like this. Or hell, just crush his whole entire skull.

"Baby, you ever thought of crushing watermelons like this?" he asks.

Nines gets over his embarrassment long enough to scoff. "What, I suppose that is sexual too?"

"I mean, I'd definitely jack off to that vide--ow!" Gavin taps out against the side of his leg, and to his credit, Nines does immediately stop crushing his ears. "OK, that's a no then."

"You should use your mouth for better purposes," Nines tells him.

"Yes, sir!"

Despite his smarmy answer, Gavin still starts slow. He drops his first few kisses just above the hem of the socks, not even quite even with his partner's knees yet.

"Seriously love how well you put together this outfit, babe," he says. "You look so soft and pretty."

Nines squeezes his thighs together much more gently this time. Gavin hums and nips at the synthetic skin. No different reaction than the kisses. Must be hard to get off when nearly your whole body is as sensitive as your elbow. He switches to the other leg and nuzzles up a bit higher.

"Bite you," he warns against the inside of a thigh.

Nines flexes around him and reaches up to grab a handful of his hair. Gavin sets his teeth against him and pauses. When he doesn't get pulled away, he bites down hard. All he get in return is a soft purr, no flinch of pain.

Nines almost definitely has a crazy high pain tolerance, but maybe also being less sensitive along his body means he can't feel anything except a really strong sensation.

"You feel that?" Gavin asks.

Nines hums. "Yes."

"Feel it when I kiss you?"

He hesitates before answering. "I am aware you are doing it. I appreciate the thought."

"I can just--"

"I appreciate the thought," Nines repeats more firmly.

"Of course," Gavin says with a grin. "Pretty babes like you get kisses, don't they?"

"Yes." Nines looks up at him. "Kisses."

Gavin takes that as a request and resumes kissing up--now technically down--Nines' legs. He tries to only take quick peeks so he doesn't stare, but the skirt bunches up over the tail and between his legs, so he can't really see what a "blank pubic plate" looks like. It's probably self-explanatory anyway.

"Want me between your legs, baby?" He knows Nines can't answer that, so he doesn't give him the chance. "You can have my mouth, I'll lick you so good."

Nines finally pulls his head down far enough that he's just a couple of inches away from the prize.

"Touch your tail?"

He gets two quick taps against the bed for yes, so he carefully tugs down the rumpled skirt. Nines' tail immediately curls up in between his legs. He has the sort of Ken doll smooth mound Gavin had been expecting, but he hadn't been lying when he said he could work with that.

Gavin draws one finger down the length of the tail, careful not to touch any skin. Nines arches, and his purr dissolves into static.

That's right, the sensors in the new accessories are regular sensors. Or, pleasure sensors? He's not really sure how it works, only that Nines said his own sensors only register heat and pressure, and they can't be changed, but he can get around that by syncing up to any sort of extra attachment with normal sensors pre-installed.

"You could get a less furry tail and fuck my whole throat with it," Gavin suggests.

"H̕o͘w .͝.͟. do yo̵u **t̨ḩin͝k** ̴o̢f ̡..̵." Nines stops and just pants out steam.

"Unsupervised human thoughts."

Gavin waits for him to look back up again, then hits him with a wink. Nines still has the presence of mind to roll his own eyes, so he ducks down and takes just the tip of the tail into his mouth.

And OK, it's kind of … fuzzy. Not quite sexy. But it makes Nines practically wail beneath the garbled mechanical sounds, so mission accomplished.

Gavin drops the tail out of his mouth when Nines' thighs start squeezing a little too hard again and gives the android a short break from stimulation.

"Curl it around my hand, baby."

Nines takes a moment to respond, then he actually does as he's told and wraps the tail around Gavin's wrist.

"Yeah, that's good. Will a light tug hurt?" he asks. "Just like with your hair, not too hard."

Not yanking on his hair seems to be more of a psychological thing than actually experiencing pain, but the sensors in his tail might be able to feel that. Plus, it could like, pop off or something.

"No. Yes," Nines says, answering each question in order.

Luckily, Gavin's used to that, so he understands what his partner means. He glides his hand up the rest of the tail, but the base is underneath the android's body.

"Lift your hips just a bit for me," he says. "Won't touch anything else but your tail, promise."

Nines holds up his hand with his thumb and pinky finger extended. It takes an embarrassingly long time for Gavin's brain to catch up and recognize it as the fingerspell for "y."

Yeah, asking the question "Why?" in response to an order probably wasn't encouraged by Cyberlife.

For a second, he can't concentrate because he's too mad that it seems like Nines' whole life is nothing but a series of work arounds and loopholes and half-measures. But that's not helpful right now, so he forces it back down.

"Like your hair," Gavin repeats. "If I pull on it from the end, it can really hurt and snap your head back. It'll be safer if I grip your tail at the base, so I don't accidentally yank it off."

Nines lifts his hips. Gavin quickly slides his hand underneath where the android's tailbone would be--if he has that sort of thing. His body is a little heavy resting on top of his hand, but he's got his wrist set flat on the bed and not at an angle. He thinks Nines uses the leverage of having his legs over his shoulders to keep his hips from settled back down fully too.

"There we go, you're so good, doing so well," he tells Nines.

Then he ducks his head down and presses his lips against all of that smooth, bare skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **coming up next:** Nines experiences his first willing orgasm, but it kicks him into a soft reboot. After he wakes back up, he talks to Gavin about it and they work out some new rules. Gavin asks to hear "some boring shit" to help him fall asleep, but he's the one who ends up talking, and they maybe sort of plan to elope in Rome ...
> 
> as for the sequel, I have that about halfway written by now, but I'll need several months to finish it up, edit it, and get it formatted for the different sites I post on. here's a really bad summary of the sequel that doesn't give away any plot:
> 
> Nines ruining Grayson's life, Gavin and Nines taking a vacation to see his grandma, Nines being adopted by every old woman he encounters, BREAKING NEWS: Grayson found dead in Detroit!!, *shocked face* who killed Grayson?, at some point Nines sexually hunts Gavin for sport, Connor apologizing to Nines for being a dick to him the whole time, and ends with a big happy family Thanksgiving with Gavin, Nines, Connor, and Hank inventing new holiday traditions together, like Nines getting bullied in the park by a six-year old
> 
> again, more info on this sequel, bonus reed900 fics to tide you over, and three different reed900 WIPs can be found on my tumblr ^^


	36. Lorem Ipsum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines experiences his first willing orgasm, but it kicks him into a soft reboot. After he wakes back up, he talks to Gavin about it and they work out some new rules. Gavin asks to hear "some boring shit" to help him fall asleep, but he's the one who ends up talking, and they maybe sort of plan to elope in Rome ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's the very last chapter! thank you so, so much for everyone who's been reading and commenting, I really appreciate all of you <3
> 
> I hope everyone stays safe and has happy holidays!!

Nines's sensors are not enabled to feel [pleasure], but as he has experienced before, they must register the sensation of Gavin touching him as _something_.

It is more than merely registering [heat] and [pressure]. More intense than the feedback from his attachment and new accessories, but also somehow less so at the same time.

If he retreats inside his own system and consults the various tasks and missions he has assigned, he can almost ignore the sensation entirely. Yet when he focuses on it, listens to the sound of Gavin's voice, and his human's own [pleasure], it is nearly overwhelming.

But Gavin does go _slow_ , like he promised.

The first brush of his lips is a chaste kiss, except for the fact that it is pressed between his legs. Nines quickly writes a few lines of code to prevent his legs from closing any more than their current positions, so that he does not accidentally crush his human's delicate skull.

The sensation fades as he's preoccupied, but it returns full force when Gavin speaks to him with his lips still pressed _against_ his mound, so that he feels every syllable and soft exhale.

"My baby, could get you a soft, pretty pussy that'd match the pink of your ears."

Honestly, how are those words even legal? How dare he.

His outrage dies quickly however when Gavin presses another kiss against him that has a hint of tongue, so quick and soft Nines is uncertain if he really registered that sensation.

Until Gavin blows cold air onto his skin, and then, _yes_ , his sensors do register the temperature difference between the rest of his pubic plate and the rapidly cooling wet spot where Gavin's tongue had touched.

Nines does not recognize the sounds that his vocal unit makes at that.

"S'okay, I got you baby, just stay right here with me."

There is nowhere else to be. Nines has no memories of this, not any experience that could be remotely similar. The only potential issue is getting too caught up in his own thoughts and system to remain present.

Ironically, he must have gotten distracted by ruminating on the possibility of distraction, because he is abruptly pulled back into the present when Gavin gives a light tug to his tail. _That_ accessory is set up to receive pleasure, and the firm pressure of his human's hand wrapped around it serves as an anchor.

"G̴av͢ .̧.͘. ͞in͟."

Gavin presses his mouth back against him and then moans. Nines involuntarily kicks his heels into his back, but his human just chuckles in response, and it is not fair how that also sends a wave of [feeling] up his body.

"Tell me if this is too much," Gavin says.

Then he scrapes his teeth across Nines's mound like an _animal_ and--

[software instability ^]

It is so close to being too much and yet also not enough at all. Nines knows when his human kisses him, but that is mostly from the [heat] register. His sensors are certainly capable enough of registering even the lightest touch, but it does not [feel] like anything.

He can almost [feel] it when Gavin bites him though. Or whatever this new--

Gavin licks a line straight up his entire mound, tongue flat and hot against all those sensors, and the slurping sound it makes is absolutely _filthy._

Then the saliva starts cooling, and it's too cold, and Nines needs--that heat--Gavin's mouth--

Gavin goes back down and Nines understands why humans refer to it as "eating out." He utilizes his lips and his tongue and hard scrapes of his teeth, moaning all the while like he does when he is fed a particular delicious treat.

[software instability ^^]

Yes, he knows, he _knows_.

What he does not know is if too much of this will deviate him. The software instabilities are concerning, but [pleasure] is not an emotion, and technically none of these activities are restricted. He is not breaking any rules, but he can no longer focus well enough to see the red walls.

(That should be a concern in and of itself.)

Except he keeps getting drawn back to the here and now, where Gavin has--holds his tongue flat against his mound, and takes one hand clenched in the sheets to guide it into his hair instead, pushing to show Nines how to move his head back and forth.

Which moves his tongue as well.

Nines does recall a similar experience to this, but it is only with Gavin himself. Holding his head and guiding his mouth up and down his phallic attachment.

(He has never recalled a [good] memory before.)

Nines pushes and pulls his human's head to drag his tongue along him, all that wet heat and--

And Gavin groans again, ending in a little whimper. Nines--he--he ~~[li---]~~ \--he ~~[wan--]~~ \--and he ~~[need-]~~

His preconstruction of the room shows Gavin has worked his free hand down his own body to touch himself as Nines uses his mouth.

The fact that his human _enjoys this_ , wants it, wants him, hits harder than any physical sensation--although the thumb that presses right into the base of where his tail attaches certainly helps as well.

[software instability ^^^]

Nines exhales steam to lower his temperature, but it doesn't help. All the [sensations] are too much.

[system shutdown imminent]

He does not even get the courtesy of a timer before his system

***

***

***

shuts down and reboots.

"Nines?"

The red walls still hold, but they seem particularly inept now. He lives in the foyer of a mansion blocked off with baby gates that he is expected to take seriously and not simply step over them.

(It is what lies in the other rooms that keeps him in place. There is no point entering a room that is on fire.)

"Nines? Come on." Gavin's voice turns [stern]. "RK."

Nines still has a preconstruction of the room displayed on his HUD, created by all his data input systems other than visual. His awareness of his own body gets added last however.

Once he understands where he is in relation to the room (and what attachments he has installed), he turns his LED back on and authorizes one blue cycle.

"God. Fuck. Scared the shit out of me."

He knows where Gavin is on the bed, but now he realizes that location is [beside him]. A quick scan of his sensors shows that he still wears [clothing].

Gavin's cell phone rests on the nightstand, but he does not utilize the device. He should not "hack" it (even though it is so readily available to him and any possible form of data input should be utilized to--) because he is already [safe] and he will not violate his partner's privacy.

He merely texts it instead.

_Covers._

"Yeah baby, you need under the covers?"

Blue spin.

"OK, I'm gonna get off the bed so I can lift the covers up, and then you'll have to move a little to get under them. But you can lay down and recalibrate after that."

Nines follows the instructions. His human lifts the covers and tells him how he needs to move, talking them through the process until his entire physical model up to his chin is sufficiently covered.

"Are your regular shorts in the bathroom?" Gavin asks. "I can get them and slide them under for you to pull back on."

Nines waits for the [feeling]. His human being so good to him usually causes that.

But there is only a nothingness.

(Has he accidentally been [feeling] this entire time? How else would he note its absence?)

[answer the question]

Blue spin.

Gavin moves to the bathroom. While inside, his heat signature also appears to clean himself. Nines immediately performs a diagnostic scan. His system does not stop recording information simply because it is in the process of rebooting or stasis.

The sensors in his pubic plate were only activated for an additional [7.3] seconds after the reboot began. No other sensors were activated, beyond the data he expects to see from his clothes.

He sweeps one foot across the bed in the general area of where Gavin knelt. There is a wet spot.

There are no fluids on his physical model.

[conclusion.1: Gavin climaxed due to the use of his own hand]

[conclusion.2: His human stopped touching him after realizing he was rebooting]

Gavin returns to the bedroom. He lifts the covers only enough to place the shorts underneath them, then remains in place while Nines pulls them over and re-equips them. He un-equips the skirt and detaches the tail. It is producing too much unnecessary data.

The ears must go as well. He sits up to facilitate easier removal of the sweater, since he did not unequip his bullet-resistant tank before donning the outfit. He removed the shorts because they were visible beneath the skirt due to the tail, and they looked [ugly].

Nines opens his eyes and looks at Gavin. His human has a [facial expression], but identifying it (much less determining the cause) is beyond his capacity at the moment.

"Facial expression?" he asks.

"I'm …" Gavin pauses and inhales. "I am worried about you. I thought you were good and also, uh. Enjoying it. But then you didn't wake back up and that was really scary."

Yes. That explanation accounts for the approximate seven seconds of continued activity.

"My system rebooted involuntarily to prevent me from deviating," Nines explains.

"Is that like, a fun thing?" Gavin asks.

Nines does not have dialogue options.

Gavin rephrases. "Was that good, bad, or intense?"

"Bad," Nines answers.

"Shit." Gavin closes his eyes briefly. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

"Why? You did not cause the reboot."

"Pretty sure I, uh …" Gavin glances down at Nines's groin. "Did."

Nines exhales air. "You did not make that decision. My system did. I do not blame you for my restrictions."

Gavin exhales much more air than he did. "OK. Everything up to the reboot though--what I was doing. Was that good, bad, or intense?"

"Good." Nines subscribes to the theory that or can include and in logic puzzles. "Intense."

"All right." Gavin moves forward slowly to sit on the edge of the bed with one leg drawn up. "How are you doing now? Are you OK? We still good?"

"I am fully functional again," Nines replies. "We are still good."

Gavin doesn't let that go. "Good. Are you OK?"

Nines looks away, but his human is very persistent. Not patient for anything except cases and now, apparently this.

"I am. Empty."

"Empty up here?" Gavin taps his own temple.

Nines rolls his eyes. "I have thoughts, Detective."

That does not provoke an equally snarky reply.

"Empty in here?" He taps his chest.

"I am …"

Admitting he is not experiencing [feelings] is not restricted, but in this context, it does reveal he has experienced them before. But Gavin is his [partner]. They are [good].

He is [safe][?]

"Empty of. Feelings."

"Oh, babe, you're tired," Gavin says, as if [feelings] are that easy to diagnose. "Sometimes when you do something really intense, you get drained after. That's--you're still online, right?"

Nines responds only with a Look.

Gavin snorts. "Yeah, right. Well, brush up on aftercare and why it's needed. This is normal. You just need to … emotionally recalibrate."

Nines confirms that [intense] sexual and/or powerplay scenes do require aftercare. He already knows that, would not engage in any sort of sexual scene with Gavin without first doing his research, but he had approached the matter from the vantage of what sort of aftercare the human would need and what he could provide with his own limited options.

He did not realize it would be necessary for himself as well.

"Doms need aftercare too," Gavin says, as if they are interfaced. "And even though you were still in charge and all, you did let me take the lead on this one, all the way through, which is new. Sometimes something just being new makes you need time to process."

"How am I supposed to emotionally recalibrate if I do not experience emotions?" Nines asks.

Gavin makes another [facial expression]. "Yeah, they really fucked you over, huh? I'm just going to say stuff about my feelings out loud, really plain. But if you feel like--I mean, if it seems like I'm treating you like a baby, you can just tell me to shut up."

"I will tell you to hush," Nines replies.

Gavin [smiles] at him. "OK. I'm only mad and frustrated with Cyberlife, not you. I'm not mad at or disappointed in you."

Oh. Nines tries to generate a dialogue option.

"Thank you for clarifying. How do you emotionally recalibrate?" he asks.

"Uhh …" Gavin clears his throat. "Nothing healthy. But I know what aftercare should look like. I can make you some thirium, or brush your face again. Not sexual. You can take a shower, or we can lay down together."

"We can lie down together."

"Yeah, OK. We can lie down," Gavin says.

Nines waits, but his human does not move.

"Now?" he asks.

"Oh!" Gavin blinks at him. "Shit, sorry. I thought you were just correcting my grammar."

"I have attempted to stop doing so," Nines tells him.

Gavin [smiles] at him again. "Thanks. That's really nice."

Nines catalogues this as the second time Gavin has categorized him as [nice].

"Under the covers or over?" he asks.

"Over for now." Nines lies back down. "I will change into my pajamas when you are ready to sleep, and then it will be under."

"Yeah, sure."

Gavin crawls onto the bed with him and lays across his physical model in his typical sleeping position. Nines has spent the last several nights at his human's apartment instead of his own, in case Grayson thought to return and cause another scene. Gavin said it was unnecessary, but he also did not tell him to leave.

Nines takes his arms out from underneath the covers so he can [touch] his human. He curls one arm around his body and pets his other hand through his hair. Gavin sighs deeply and rubs his face against the covers over his chest.

"You really OK?" he asks.

"Yes," Nines tells him. "Before the reboot was very good. You did not hurt me. I am not mad at you."

The muscles in Gavin's back and shoulders relax. "'Kay. Good. We could do just the first part then, if you really … uh … if it was productive? For you?"

"Just the first part?" Nines repeats.

Gavin squeezes his hand. "Yeah, like I said last time, with your attachment. If it gets too intense at the end, especially if it's going to kick you into a reboot each time, we can stop before that point. Yeah?"

Yes. "We are good," Nines confirms.

"Mmhmm." Gavin yawns. "Is now an OK time to talk about our rules?"

"Yes. Do you need to revise one of them?"

"Yeah." Gavin keeps his head tucked into his shoulder. "Those rules you gave me at the club. Could they be like, permanent?"

That is the exact opposite direction Nines expected the revision to take.

"No exchanging bodily fluids and no sex with other people? You wish those rules to be permanent?" he asks.

Gavin sighs again, and it is a much different sound than earlier. "I think we're doing all right, but mostly because you started the whole thing with a safe signal and consent and stuff."

 _Consent and stuff._ Also known as: not raping your sexual partner.

"I obviously have a lot of issues with sex and setting my own boundaries, because I--I want people to like me. And, y'know. BPD abandonment issues. So I give in just so someone will stay, and it's pretty easy for other guys to figure that out."

"But I would enforce those new rules?"

Gavin props himself up on his elbow to look at him. "No. No, you're not my nanny or anything. I just mean. I'd already stopped fucking random guys before we got partnered. I knew it was bad for me, so I tried to stop, but it's hard to stay accountable to just yourself."

"How would you be accountable to me?" Nines asks. "I do not want to punish you."

"Yeah, no," Gavin says. "I--with Grayson. I’m not, I am not blaming you for anything. At all. Just. I wasn't sure what the rule was and if it still mattered. I think, if I knew exactly what it was and that it mattered, that would help me. Make my own good decisions."

"You wish to have a red wall," Nines surmises.

Gavin nods. The human has stated before that if he could choose to restrict certain self-destructive tendencies related to his BPD, he would do so. Obviously, he cannot literally restrict actions from himself, but if a Rule between the two of them helped him stay focused and remember said actions are [bad], Nines will of course facilitate that.

"Yes," he says. "It is a partner rule that we do not exchange bodily fluids with or engage in sexual activities with other people."

Gavin ducks his head back down. "You don't have to include yourself. You can still do whatever."

"First, I would not do either activity with anyone else, ever. Secondly, partner rules should be applicable to both of us unless obviously impractical."

Gavin starts to reply, then gets caught up in another yawn. After, he simply says, "OK."

"Is it time for bed?" Nines asks him.

"Nah," he says. "I'm tired, but not enough to sleep. We can just snuggle for a bit until I get really tired."

"Should I tell you 'boring shit'?"

"I like your boring shit," Gavin mumbles. "S'just boring, that's all. What's all that extra stuff on my card? I know the first paragraph, but are the next two really still part of lorem ipsum?"

"Yes," Nines answers. "They are sections one-point-one-zero-point-three-two and point-three-three, respectively. They were written by Cicero in forty-five AD."

"Fuck yeah, that's boring." He yawns again and [snuggles] closer. "What's the translation?"

"But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness," Nines begins.

"Shit. That's definitely Cicero," Gavin mutters.

"No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful."

"Hey." Gavin looks up. "Are you allowed to say this stuff? Like it's OK as long as you're quoting someone else?"

"I am quoting the English translation without issue," Nines answers. "And I said this earlier,"

"Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. "

Gavin [blushes] and puts his head back down, as if that will hide the reaction.

"To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it?"

Nines pauses to allow for any more commentary from his human, but he does not speak up again.

"But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?""

"And you wrote that down on my card?" Gavin asks softly.

Nines closes his eyes. "It is the lorem ipsum. Nearly the entire human race has agreed it is nothing but meaningless filler text."

"… what's the rest?"

Nines recites section one-point-one-zero-point-three-three for him. It is similarly lengthy, being written by Cicero, but it ends with prudent advice:

"The wise man therefore always holds in these matters to this principle of selection: he rejects pleasures to secure other greater pleasures, or else he endures pains to avoid worse pains."

Gavin hums to himself when Nines finishes. "I learned some Latin in high school, but it was only first year shit. And then I took Italian the next year, and that fucked it all up."

"Why?" Nines asks.

"Too similar. I got good at Italian for a while though. Went to Rome for two weeks on a study tour and picked up a lot from that too."

That is definitely not typical of the average American public schooling. This must be about his childhood in the [Kamski] family.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Yeah." Gavin snorts though. "But I was a little shit and definitely didn't appreciate it like I should have. It was my first time being somewhere no one knew me, with a binder and a fresh hair cut. Wearing obnoxious designer shit, thinking I was so hot and cool just 'cause I was getting gendered right for the first time."

Nines does not have dialogue to contribute, but he also finds it productive to listen to his human's rambling. It makes for a very [interesting] preconstruction, of what a young!Gavin would have looked and acted like.

"Yes," he says.

"You'd like it," Gavin tells him. "Everyone wears super formal shit, like suits in hundred degree weather. Only tourists wear jeans and sneakers. They'll get super snooty about it too, sneering down at the stupid Americans who dress like children."

"Would I see you in a suit?"

Gavin laughs. "Maybe. You could tell me all the historical facts and shit, and I could show you around all the cool places. We stayed at a hostel run by nuns--there's a park across the street, and a little breakfast shop next to the bus stop. They had fucking bitchin' paninis and wifi too, way faster than the hostel."

"Do you want to go back?" Nines asks.

"Fuck yeah," Gavin agrees immediately, but then he scoffs. "Never going to happen though. Can't afford it."

"Connor has been getting offers to speak at international conferences," Nines says. "I am not interested, but I would go as security personnel. And I would need my human partner of course, especially in a country still as conservative as Italy. It is within the realm of possibility."

"You'd bring me with you?" Gavin asks.

"I would only go with you. You have preconstructions for what we would do?"

"I--yeah." Gavin bites lightly at his neck. "We'd sneak away from all that shit. Fuck Connor. It'd be just you and me, baby. I'd show you everything."

Nines turns his head so that his lips happen to rest near Gavin's forehead.

"Tell me about Rome."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sometimes you just have to plan to platonically elope in Rome with your life partner uwu
> 
> I'm working on the sequel, and I hope to have it finished, edited, and ready to be published spring/summer 2021! you can check out my blog phcking-detective.tumblr.com for more info on how to get early access to some chapters and keep reading my writing in the meantime ^^
> 
> here's the summary for the sequel as encouragement:
> 
> Gavin and Nines's luck may have taken a turn for the worse when Nines gets injured on a case, Gavin's ex-boyfriend tries to sabotage him at work, and then Cliffs comes back yet again. And this time he's got a Hail Mary: Elijah Kamski. 
> 
> Forced to stand by and watch as Kamski cracks open Nines's mind for "incriminating evidence," the best Gavin can do for his partner is take him up north to a cabin his grandma owns, far from wifi and civilization. Will the retreat to family and nature help Nines heal or cause more instability as the two are forced to confront their feelings?
> 
> And how will they manage when their return to Detroit is marked by the extremely suspicious and convenient death of one Daniel Christian Grayson if their only alibi is each other?

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is also posted on my reed900 tumblr, phcking-detective.tumblr.com/If-It-Bleeds, where you can check out how to get access to chapters one week early (you could be reading chapter two right now!), deleted scenes, and other cool bonus content~


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